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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Class Book for The School of Musketry Hythe, by 
-E. C.  Wilford
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license
-
-
-Title: Class Book for The School of Musketry Hythe
-       Prepared for the Use of Officers
-
-Author: E. C.  Wilford
-
-Release Date: October 6, 2019 [EBook #60441]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: UTF-8
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CLASS BOOK ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Brian Coe, Harry Lamé and the Online Distributed
-Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
-produced from images generously made available by The
-Internet Archive). The book cover image was created by the
-transcriber and is placed in the public domain.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-  Transcriber’s Note
-
-  Text printed in italics has been transcribed between _underscores_.
-  Small capitals have been replace with ALL CAPITALS. Superscript texts
-  are transcribed as ^{text}.
-
-  Sidenotes are surrounded by ~tildes~.
-
-  More Transcriber’s Notes may be found at the end of this text.
-
-
-
-
-  CLASS BOOK
-  FOR
-  THE SCHOOL OF MUSKETRY
-  HYTHE.
-
-  PREPARED FOR THE USE OF OFFICERS.
-
-  BY
-  COLONEL E. C. WILFORD,
-  _Assistant-Commandant and Chief Instructor_.
-
-  HYTHE:
-  W. S. PAINE, STATIONER, POST OFFICE, HIGH STREET.
-
-  1861.
-
-
-
-
-INTRODUCTION.
-
-
-The School of Musketry was founded in 1853, by the then
-Commander-in-Chief, the late Viscount Hardinge, as a normal school of
-instruction in Musketry.
-
-It has for its especial object the formation of officers and
-non-commissioned officers to act as instructors in the several
-battalions throughout the Army.
-
-In the book of “Regulations for conducting the Musketry Instruction of
-the Army,” promulgated by order of His Royal Highness the
-Commander-in-Chief, it is ordered at page 33, and paragraph 35, that,
-“The Commanding Officer is to assemble the officers of the battalion at
-least once in each half-year, and to cause the non-commissioned officers
-and men to be assembled occasionally by squads or companies, at other
-times than when the annual course is proceeding, when the
-officer-instructor, having previously explained the theoretical
-principles detailed in the foregoing lessons, will be at liberty to
-advance deeper into the subject, developing to a degree proportionate to
-the rank and intelligence of his auditors, the whole history of small
-arms, from the first invention of gunpowder, and the successive steps by
-which the rifle-musket has attained its present efficiency; in order
-that the officers and soldiers, by acquiring a thorough knowledge of the
-subject theoretically, may take a greater interest in the practical part
-of this most important branch of their duty.”
-
-The following Lectures have been prepared for the use of officers
-qualifying at the School of Musketry for the positions of Instructors in
-their respective Regiments. They are not to be considered as complete
-treatises or histories, but merely as “aids” to instruction, which can
-be expanded by the Instructor in viva voce Lectures, and if bound with
-an alternate ruled blank leaf, they may be corrected and enlarged when
-desirable, to suit the various improvements in arms, &c., introduced
-from time to time.
-
-These Lectures are a mere compilation, extracted from a vast amount of
-interesting and valuable matter, systematically arranged. The names of
-the various authors upon whom wholesale plunder has been committed are
-mentioned in the course of the work, and the compiler hopes this general
-confession may secure their pardon.
-
-The Theory of Gunnery has been very slightly touched upon: it cannot be
-pursued by any persons unless well grounded in Mathematics, and the
-short time passed by officers at Hythe wholly precludes so abstruse a
-study. Our School is decidedly a practical institution; to acquire an
-art or skill is our object, and we only broach the subject of Theory to
-soldiers, so far as to enable them to understand the reasons for all
-those rules which have to be attended to in practice.
-
-  E. C. WILFORD,
-  COLONEL.
-
-  HYTHE, _January, 1861_.
-
-
-
-
-CONTENTS
-
-
-                                                                   PAGE.
-  History of Gunpowder                                                 1
-  Manufacture of Gunpowder                                             7
-  Foreign Gunpowder                                                   20
-  Explosive force of Gunpowder                                        29
-  Experiments with Gunpowder                                          36
-  Magazines                                                           23
-  Lightning Conductors                                                24
-  Greek Fire                                                           4
-  Ancient Engines of War                                              39
-  On Artillery                                                        62
-  Portable Fire Arms                                                  73
-  The Rifle                                                           86
-  The Bayonet                                                         83
-  Accoutrements                                                       84
-  Breech-loaders                                                      92
-  On Rifling                                                          95
-  On Rifle Projectiles                                               101
-  Theoretical Principles                                             110
-  Gravity                                                            113
-  Atmosphere                                                         115
-  Form of Bodies                                                     119
-  Causes of Deviation                                                121
-  Windage                                                            121
-  Rotation                                                           122
-  On Eccentric Projectiles                                           124
-
-  Extended Table of Contents
-
-
-
-
-ERRATA.
-
-
-  Page 6, para. 5, line 6, for “_have before stated_” read “_shall
-  state_.”
-
-  Page 20, last line but one, for “_altogether_” read “_all together_”
-
-  Page 25, para. 3, line 5, for “_descriptive_” read “_disruptive_.”
-
-  Page 30, para. 3, line 9, for “_expansive_” read “_expansion_.”
-
-  Page 31, para. 3, line 1, for “_art_” read “_act_.”
-
-  Page 32, para. 7, line 9, for “_considerable_” read “_considerably_.”
-
-  Page 32, para. 7, line 10, for “_Robert_” read “_Piobert_.”
-
-  Page 35, para. 3, line 1, for “_sulphurate of Potassia_” read
-  “_sulphide of Potassa_.”
-
-  Page 36, para. 4, lines 1 and 2, for “_which is a mortar_” read “_the
-  chamber being_.”
-
-  Page 40, last line but 3, for “_Polyreetes_” read “_Polyorcetes_.”
-
-  Page 41, para. 4, line 10, for “ix” read “xii.”
-
-  Page 53, para. 2, line 9, for “_incredible_” read “_incredibly_.”
-
-  Page 66, para. 6, line 2, after “_has_” insert “_a_”
-
-  Page 78, para. 5, line 3, for “753in.,” read “·753in.”
-
-  Page 78, para. 5, line 3, for “16” read “14¹⁄₂.”
-
-  Page 79, line 4, for “600” read “6,000.”
-
-  Page 84, para. 2, line 1, for “_Latinat_” read “_Catinat_.”
-
-  Page 84, para. 3, line 1, for “_masquitairy_” read “_mousquetaires_.”
-
-  Page 86, para. 10, line 2, for “_Carabins ragees_,” read “_Carabines
-  rayées_.”
-
-  Page 86, para. 12, line 1, for “_subaltern officers_” read
-  “_Non-Commissioned Officers_.”
-
-  Page 89, line 3, for “_range_” read “_rayé_.”
-
-  Page 89, line 3, for “_ball culot_” read “_balle à culot_.”
-
-  Page 91, para. 4, last line, for “⁷⁄₁₀₀” read “¹⁄₁₀₀”
-
-  Page 93, para. 8, line 1, for “_wounds_” read “_rounds_.”
-
-  Page 98, para. 1, lines 6 and 7, for “_possible. For_,” read
-  “_possible; for_”
-
-  Page 103, para. 3, line 7, for “_proportionary_” read
-  “_proportionate_.”
-
-  Page 103, para. 5, line 4, for “_reserved_” read “_reversed_.”
-
-  Page 105, para. 6, line 3, for “_horn-wood_” read “_hora, wood_.”
-
-  Page 112, para. 1, line 8, after “_direction_,” insert “_b_.”
-
-  Page 114, para. 2, line 7, for “16-48-80” read “16+48+80.”
-
-  Page 115, para. 2, line 2, for “_sine_” read “_tangent_.”
-
-  Page 115, para. 2, for “_plate_ 21, _fig._ 3,” read “_plate_ 22,
-  _fig._ 3.”
-
-  Page 119, para. 3, line 1, after “_moving_,” insert “_in_.”
-
-  Plate 21, fig. 5, should be lettered as fig. 4. plate 22.
-
-
-
-
-HISTORY OF GUNPOWDER.
-
-
-The History of Gunpowder may well form a prelude to that of Fire Arms,
-as the existence of the latter is wholly dependent on the discovery of
-the former. Of all the discoveries which have been made, there is,
-perhaps, none which has produced more important consequences to mankind
-than the discovery of Gunpowder, as by introducing fire-arms, and a new
-method of fortifying, attacking, and defending Towns, it wrought a
-complete change in the whole art of war.
-
-  ~Knock’s opinion.~
-
-The invention of Gunpowder is completely involved in obscurity, and this
-very fact is one great proof of its antiquity. Knock observes that the
-invention of Gunpowder comprises several discoveries, which it is
-necessary to distinguish from each other.
-
-  ~Order of discovery.~
-
-1st.--The discovery of Nitre, the principal ingredient, and the cause of
-its detonation.
-
-2nd.--The mixture of nitre with sulphur and charcoal, which, properly
-speaking, form gunpowder.
-
-3rd.--The application of powder to fire-works.
-
-4th.--Its employment as a propelling agent for throwing stones, bullets,
-&c.
-
-5th.--Its employment in springing mines and destroying fortifications.
-
-All these discoveries belong to different periods.
-
-  ~Mr. Duten’s account.~
-
-Mr. Dutens carried the antiquity of gunpowder very high; and refers to
-the accounts given by Virgil, and others, of Salmonens’ attempt to
-imitate thunder, presuming from hence that he used a composition of the
-nature of Gunpowder.
-
-  ~Known in China, A. D. 85.~
-
-It has been said that it was used in China as early as the year A. D.
-85, and that the knowledge of it was conveyed to us from the Arabs, on
-the return of the Crusaders to Europe.
-
-  ~Known in India, A. D. 250.~
-
-The Brahmas and Indians, whose practice is recorded by Philostratus, in
-his life of Appolonius Tyanœus, written about 1600 years ago. “These
-truly wise men,” says he, “dwell between the rivers Hyphasis and Ganges;
-their country Alexander never entered, their cities he never could have
-taken, for they come not out to the field to fight those who attack
-them, but they overthrow their enemies with tempests and thunderbolts,
-shot from their walls.”
-
-This is a most striking illustration of the antiquity of Gunpowder, for
-if some such composition be not implied in the foregoing quotation, it
-must remain for ever perfectly unintelligible.
-
-Saltpetre, which is the principal ingredient of Gunpowder, is found in
-its natural state in the East, and from this it seems highly probable
-they were acquainted with the composition of Gunpowder before the
-Europeans.
-
-  ~Powder at siege of Mecca, A. D. 690.~
-
-The Arabs are said to have employed Gunpowder at the siege of Mecca,
-A. D. 690.
-
-  ~Oldest book on gunpowder A. D. 900.~
-
-There is a manuscript book still extant, entitled Liber Ignium, written
-by Marcus Græcus, who lived about the end of the eighth century, and the
-composition there prescribed is 6lbs. saltpetre, 2lbs. charcoal, 1lb.
-sulphur, to be well powdered and mixed in a stone mortar.
-
-  ~Work on gunpowder in Escurial Collection A. D. 1249.~
-
-There is in the Escurial Collection a treatise on Gunpowder, written in
-1249.
-
-  ~Roger Bacon on powder, A. D. 1267.~
-
-Our countryman, Roger Bacon, who was born 1214, and published works at
-Oxford 1267, expressly mentions the ingredients of Gunpowder, not as any
-new discovery, but as a well known composition, used for recreation. He
-describes it as producing a noise like thunder, and flashes like
-lightning, but more terrible than those produced by nature; and adds
-that it might be applied to the destruction of an army or a city. Bacon,
-in his treatise “De Secretis Operibus,” says that from saltpetre,
-sulphur, and wood coals, we are able to make a fire that shall burn at
-any distance we please.
-
-  ~Tradition of Schwartz, A. D. 1320.~
-
-  ~Mortar.~
-
-The common tradition of Bartholdus Schwartz having invented Gunpowder
-and Artillery, about 1320, is without the slightest foundation, but he
-might possibly have suggested the simplest application of it to warlike
-purposes, in consequence of some accidental explosion while mixing the
-ingredients in a mortar. Indeed, the name, as well as the form of the
-old species of artillery, which was employed to throw large bullets at
-an elevation, strongly corroborate this conjecture; but Schwartz cannot
-lay any claim to originality of invention.
-
-  ~Powder made in the reign of Richard II. 1378.~
-
-Gunpowder was made in England in the fourteenth century, as Richard II.
-commissioned Sir Thomas Norwich to buy, in London, or in any other
-place, certain quantities of “sulphur, saltpetre, and charcoal,” for
-making Gunpowder.
-
-  ~Tartaglia on Powder, A. D. 1500.~
-
-Tartaglia, at the commencement of the sixteenth century, sets down
-twenty-three different compositions, made use of at different times, the
-first of which, being the most ancient, consists of equal parts of
-nitre, sulphur, and charcoal.
-
-  ~Ancient gunpowder weak.~
-
-Gunpowder, for some time after the invention of artillery, was of a
-composition much weaker than what we now use, or than that ancient one
-mentioned by Marcus Græcus; but this, it is presumed, was owing to the
-weakness of their first pieces, rather than to the ignorance of a better
-mixture.
-
-  ~Graining.~
-
-The change of the proportion of the materials composing it was not the
-only improvement it received. The invention of graining it is doubtless
-a considerable advantage to it; for powder, at first, was always in the
-form of fine meal, such as it was reduced to by grinding the materials
-together. It is doubtful whether the first graining of powder was
-intended to increase its strength, or only to render it more convenient
-for the filling into small charges, and the charging of small arms, to
-which alone it was applied for many years, whilst meal-powder was still
-made use of in cannon. But at last the additional strength which the
-grained powder was found to acquire from the free passage of the fire
-between the grains, occasioned the meal-powder to be entirely laid
-aside.
-
-  ~Tartaglia wrote, 1537.~
-
-  ~William Bourne, 1577.~
-
-That powder was first used in meal, and continued in its old form for
-cannon long after the invention of graining it for small arms, are facts
-not to be contested. Tartaglia expressly asserts that in his time
-cannon-powder was in meal, and the musket-powder grained. And our
-countryman, William Bourne, in his “Art of Shooting in great Ordnaunce,”
-published forty years after Tartaglia, tells us, in chap. I, that
-serpentine powder, (which he opposes to corn, or grained-powder) should
-be as fine as sand, and as soft as flour: and in his third chapter he
-says that two pounds of corn-powder will go as far as three pounds of
-serpentine-powder.
-
-  ~Tartaglia on the proportions.~
-
-We learn from Tartaglia, that the cannon-powder was made of four parts
-saltpetre, one part sulphur, and one part charcoal; and the
-musket-powder of forty-eight parts saltpetre, seven parts sulphur, and
-eight parts charcoal; or of eighteen parts saltpetre, two parts sulphur,
-and three parts charcoal. These compositions for musket powder are very
-near the present standard; the first having, in one hundred pounds of
-powder, about one pound of saltpetre more than is at present allowed,
-and the second three pounds more.
-
-  ~Nye’s treatise on the proportions.~
-
-Nye, in his treatise on fireworks, gives the proportions of the
-ingredients, and the dates when they are used, thus in 1380 equal parts
-of each were employed. This would be about as efficient as a common
-squib of the present time. In 1410, three parts saltpetre, two sulphur,
-and two charcoal. In 1520, for the best powder, four parts saltpetre,
-one sulphur, and one charcoal, and afterwards, five saltpetre, one
-sulphur, and one charcoal.
-
-  ~Early gunpowder mere mixture.~
-
-In fact, Gunpowder was merely those substances, combined, with little or
-no purification. It was not at first corned or grained, as at present,
-but remained in its mealed state, and was called “serpentine powder,” in
-several accounts of stores in the time of Edward VI., and Elizabeth.
-
-  ~Two kinds.~
-
-Soon after this two kinds of powder were used for the same gun, one in
-its mealed state (for priming only) as being more readily ignited by the
-match, the other, corned or grained, for the charge in the gun barrel.
-
-  ~Powder first used to explode mines in 15th century.~
-
-The application of powder to mines, and to the destruction of
-fortifications, does not appear to have been in practice before the end
-of the fifteenth century.
-
-  ~Elizabeth had powder made, 1558 to 1603.~
-
-Camden, in his life of Queen Elizabeth, says that she was the first who
-procured Gunpowder to be made in England, that she might not pray and
-pay for it also to her neighbours; but it has been stated that it was
-previously made in the reign of Richard II.
-
-  ~Charles I. from A. D. 1625 to 1649.~
-
-Sir Henry Manwayring, in his Seaman’s Dictionary, presented to the Duke
-of Buckingham, in the time of Charles 1st, under the word powder, tells
-us, “There are two kinds of powder, the one serpentine-powder, which
-powder is dust (as it were) without corning. The other is “corn-powder;”
-though he informs us the serpentine-powder was not used at sea. Indeed,
-when that book was written, it is believed powder was usually corned,
-for the foreign writers on artillery had long before recommended its
-general use.
-
-  ~Causes which checked the progress of Fire-Arms.~
-
-  ~Fire-Arms supposed to extinguish bravery, and to be contrary to
-  humanity.~
-
-  ~Fire-Arms expensive and powder difficult to procure.~
-
-Various circumstances tended to check the progress of fire-arms, and the
-improvement of artillery, for a long period after the invention of
-gunpowder. Custom made most people prefer the ancient engines of war.
-The construction of artillery was very awkward and imperfect; and the
-bad quality and manufacture of gunpowder, so that it could produce but
-little effect; and there was a general aversion to the newly invented
-arms, as calculated to extinguish military bravery, and as being
-contrary to humanity; but above all, the knights (whose science was
-rendered completely useless by the introduction of fire-arms) opposed,
-with all their might, this invention, to which may be added the great
-cost and difficulty of procuring gunpowder.
-
-  ~Rockets in India.~
-
-It is known that iron rockets have been used in India as military
-weapons, time out of mind. (See plate 4, fig. 3.)
-
-
-GREEK FIRE.
-
-  ~Discovered by Callinicus. A. D., 617.~
-
-The Greek Fire has been highly extolled for its wonderful effects, but
-it owed much of its effect to the terrors and imagination of the
-beholders. It is said by the Oriental Greeks, to have been discovered by
-Callinicus, an architect of Heliopolis or Balbeck, in the reign of the
-Emperor Constantine Pogonatus, who, it is said, forbad the art of making
-it to be communicated to foreigners, but it was at length known, and in
-common use, among the nations confederated with the Byzantines.
-
-  ~Known in China, 917.~
-
-It is also said to have been known in China in 917, being 300 years
-after Constantine Pogonatus, under the name of “The oil of the
-cruelfire,” and was carried thither by the Kitan Tartars, who had it
-from the King of Ou.
-
-  ~Wild fire from the Saracens.~
-
-It was thrown by machines, by the hand, and by cross bows, fastened to
-the heads of arrows. The Crusaders obtained a knowledge of a sort of
-wild fire from the Saracens, which could only be extinguished by dust or
-vinegar. It was composed of the gum of resinous trees, reduced to powder
-with sulphur, to which was added naptha, and other bitumens, and
-probably nitre.
-
-  ~Wild fire in the Holy Wars.~
-
-  ~Geoffrey de Vinesauf’s account.~
-
-  ~Father Daniel’s account.~
-
-  ~Used at the siege of Dieppe.~
-
-It is much spoken of in all the Holy Wars, as being frequently employed
-by the Saracens against the Christians. Procopius, in his history of the
-Goths, calls it Media’s oil, considering it an infernal composition
-prepared by that sorceress. Geoffrey de Vinesauf, who accompanied
-Richard I. to the Crusades, says that it could not be extinguished by
-water, but that sand thrown upon it abated its virulence, and vinegar
-poured upon it put it out. Father Daniel says this wild fire was not
-only used in sieges, but even in battles, and that Philip Augustus, King
-of France, having found a quantity of it ready prepared at Acre, brought
-it with him to France, and used it at the siege of Dieppe, for burning
-the English vessels in that harbour.
-
-  ~Greek fire and gunpowder, both used at the siege of Ypres, 1383.~
-
-The Greek fire was used long after the invention of firearms; when the
-Bishop of Norwich besieged Ypres, 1383, the garrison is said by
-Walsingham to have defended itself so well, with stones, arrows, lances,
-and certain engines called guns, that they obliged the English to raise
-the siege with such precipitation, that they left behind them their
-great guns, which were of inestimable value.
-
-Greek fire was probably a more recent invention than Gunpowder.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-  ~Powder used by Arabs, 14th century.~
-
-It is ascertained that Gunpowder was employed by the Arabs as an agent
-for throwing bolts and stones, about the commencement of the fourteenth
-century, and that the Moors first availed themselves of its advantages
-in their wars with the Spaniards. From Spain, the use of Gunpowder and
-Artillery gradually extended itself to France, and thence over the other
-States of Europe.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-Some idea of the importance of Gunpowder may be formed by the estimate
-of the enormous quantity employed in sieges, and warfare generally.
-
-  ~Quantity used in sieges.~
-
-At the siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, January, 1812, 74,978lbs. were consumed
-in 30¹⁄₂ hours; at Badajos, March, 1812, 228,830lbs. in 104 hours, and
-this from the great guns only.
-
-  ~San Sebastian and Zaragoza.~
-
-At the two sieges of San Sebastian, 502,110lbs. At Zaragoza, the French
-exploded 45,000lbs. in the mines, and threw 16,000 shells.
-
-  ~Sebastopol.~
-
-During the siege of Sebastopol, extending over a period of eleven
-months, the enormous quantity of 2,775,360lbs., or 1,239 tons of
-gunpowder, were expended by ourselves alone; 9,076 tons of shot and
-shell having been launched by us on that memorable occasion, from 476
-pieces of heavy ordnance; of which only 11 actually burst, though 269
-were rendered unserviceable.
-
-  ~Quantity made.~
-
-Some of our private manufactories make from 8 to 10,000 barrels of
-powder a year in time of peace, and from 10 to 14,000 during war.
-
-  ~Quantity proved by Government.~
-
-  ~Quantity in store in 1783.~
-
-The quantity of powder received and proved from Faversham, at the Royal
-Magazines, and from the several powder makers contracting with
-Government, amounted, during the several years from 1776 to 1782
-inclusive, to 244,349 barrels of 100 lbs. each, being equal, on an
-average, to 3,490,700lbs. annually. The quantity of powder in store in
-Great Britain, Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man, in 1783, was about
-80,000 barrels.
-
-  ~Gunpowder used for works of peace.~
-
-Sir George Staunton observes, that gunpowder in India and China seems
-coeval with the most distant historic events, and that the Chinese have
-at all times applied it to useful purposes, as the blasting of rocks,
-and also in the preparation of fireworks, in which they greatly excel
-other nations.
-
-  ~Powder used at Woodhead tunnel.~
-
-In blasting the Woodhead tunnel, in the county of Chester, not less than
-three thousand five hundred barrels of gunpowder, weighing about one
-hundred and sixty tons, were used in its formation. The average number
-of men employed was about a thousand; and during the six years the works
-were in progress, twenty-six men were killed. There were about 400 minor
-accidents, many of them attended with loss of limb, and the sum total of
-the casualties, in proportion to the men employed, was greater,
-according to Mr. Edwin Chadwick, than was suffered by the British army
-in the battles of Talavera, Salamanca, Vittoria, and Waterloo.
-
-  ~Powder used on S. Eastern Railway.~
-
-In the formation of the South-Eastern Railway, the blasts of the cliffs
-between Dover and Folkestone have astonished even scientific men. On one
-occasion 18,500 pounds of gunpowder were ignited by galvanic action at
-the same instant, which severed from the Round-down cliff, the height of
-which is 375 feet above the level of the sea, more than 1,000,000 tons
-of chalk. The fallen mass extended 1200 feet into the ocean, and covered
-a space of 18 acres. By another statement, the quantity of earth moved
-by the explosion was 400,000 cubic yards, and was a saving to the
-Company of £7,000.
-
-  ~No. of men employed at Waltham Abbey.~
-
-  ~Quantity made.~
-
-There are 134 men employed in the Government works at Waltham Abbey in
-the manufacture of gunpowder, who make about 9,000 barrels a year. The
-premises are near two miles long, consisting of detached mills, &c., on
-a small stream, which runs through the whole length of the premises and
-communicates with the Thames, whereby there is water-carriage to the
-Government Powder Magazines at Purfleet. The barges conveying powder are
-not allowed to anchor in the river off London during the night. Where
-two buildings are adjacent, there are frequently heavy buttresses of
-masonry between them, and lightning conductors are placed in great
-numbers.
-
-  ~Saving to Government.~
-
-There is a great saving, amounting to upwards of £300,000, in the cost
-of powder, when compared to the price paid to the merchants in seven
-years of the war from 1809 to 1815, from the Government having Waltham
-Abbey, Faversham, and Ballincollig.
-
-  ~Improved Quality.~
-
-At Waltham Abbey, in a very few years after it was constructed, the
-powder was so improved, that the charge of powder to the weight of shot
-was reduced from one-half to one-third; therefore two barrels were used
-instead of three--an advantage in stowing on board ship as well as in
-the field.
-
-  ~Made by Contract.~
-
-A great part of the powder for H. M. Government has at present to be
-supplied by merchants. The contracts are made out sometimes for them to
-supply their own saltpetre, and at others for the Government to furnish
-it pure, at the rate of 77·5 lbs. per barrel of 100 lbs., they finding
-the other materials and manufacture, a corresponding reduction in price
-being made: as, however, it has to come up in nearly all respects to the
-sample, the requirements of which we shall state, certain proofs have to
-be undergone before being received for the different services.
-
-  NOTE.--The foregoing is mainly compiled from Robins’s _New Principles
-  of Gunnery_, by Hutton; _Engines of War_, by Wilkinson; and
-  _Projectile Weapons of War_, by J. Scoffern, M.B.
-
-
-
-
-ON THE MANUFACTURE OF GUNPOWDER.
-
-
-  ~Composition of powder.~
-
-Gunpowder is an explosive propellant agent; a mechanical combination and
-intimate mixture of saltpetre, charcoal, and sulphur, in certain fixed
-proportions, the result of successive experiments.
-
-  ~Ought to keep without deterioration.~
-
-To be effective, Gunpowder should,
-
-1st.--Preserve itself in a good state, whether in magazine or in
-carriage.
-
-  ~Leave no residue.~
-
-2nd.--Leave as little residue as possible after ignition.
-
-  ~Combine quickness and power.~
-
-3rd.--Should combine a certain quickness of combustion with great
-explosive force.
-
-
-SALTPETRE, OR NITRE.
-
-  ~Nitre.~
-
-  ~Where found.~
-
-  ~Unfit in natural state.~
-
-The principal ingredient in Gunpowder is an abundant production of
-Nature, and is a combination of nitric acid with the vegetable alkali.
-It is never found pure, being always contaminated with other salts and
-earthy matter. It is principally found in the East Indies, Ceylon, and
-South America, and is sometimes produced from decayed animal and
-vegetable matter. It is totally unfit for Gunpowder until it has been
-refined; for, being combined with muriates of soda, lime, magnesia, and
-other salts, which absorb moisture, the close contact of the ingredients
-would be deranged by their presence, the strength of the powder
-weakened, and the power of resisting the action of the atmosphere
-greatly lessened. As for the efflorescent salts it may contain, they are
-noxious only inasmuch as, possessing no particular useful property, they
-interpose their atoms between the more combustible ingredients, and
-impede the rapidity of deflagration.
-
-  ~Two methods of refining.~
-
-There are two methods of refining saltpetre at Waltham Abbey:--1st, the
-Old Method, of re-crystallizing three times; and 2nd, the New Method,
-which has only just been adopted, both of which we shall here briefly
-describe.
-
-
-OLD METHOD.
-
-  ~Old method.~
-
-  ~Saltpetre fuzes at 600°.~
-
-About 35 cwt. of the grough saltpetre, as it is termed, viz., as it is
-imported in its impure state, is put into a copper capable of holding
-500 gallons, with 270 gallons of water, in the proportion of about
-1¹⁄₂lbs. of nitre to 1lb. of water, (which proportion varies with the
-quality of the saltpetre). This is allowed to boil, and the impurities
-are skimmed off as they appear on the surface. Cold water is
-occasionally thrown in to precipitate portions of the chloride, which
-otherwise would remain on the top by the action of boiling. After being
-allowed to boil from three and a half to four hours, the furnace doors
-are thrown open, when the chlorides and salts fall to the bottom. In
-about two hours, a copper pump is lowered into the liquor, which is
-pumped out into a wooden trough, having four or five brass cocks, under
-which are suspended canvas filtering bags in the shape of a V. The
-solution is then filtered, and run off into pans, containing about 36
-gallons, and allowed to remain for twenty-four hours, to crystallize,
-when they are set up on edge, to drain off the liquor which remains
-uncrystallized, and which is called mother liquor. The saltpetre thus
-obtained is called once-refined, and undergoes the same process twice
-again, the only difference being that there is a greater proportion to
-the water each time, viz. 1³⁄₄lb. to 1lb. of water the second time, and
-2lb. to 1lb. of water the third time: moreover, the third time, a small
-quantity of ground charcoal is put into the solution, and it passes
-through double filters, which brings it to a very fine pure white colour
-when melted. The mother water which remains in the pans after each
-crystallization is conveyed away by gutters to cisterns under the
-building; it is then evaporated in iron pots to one quarter of its
-original bulk, filtered, and allowed to crystallize. The saltpetre
-obtained from the first mother water is considered one stage inferior to
-grough; that from the second, equal to grough; that from the
-treble-refined, equal to once-refined saltpetre. The water left from
-every stage is treated in the same way, so that actually nothing is lost
-of the pure material. Saltpetre treble-refined by this process is
-perfectly pure, and fit for the manufacture of Gunpowder; and in order
-to free it from moisture, as well as for the convenience of storage and
-transport, it is melted in iron pots holding about 4 cwt., by raising it
-to a temperature of 600° Fahrenheit, and cast into gun-metal circular
-moulds holding about 38lbs. each. It must be observed that it requires
-about two hours to bring the saltpetre into a liquid state, and that,
-after this, the furnace doors are thrown open, to lower the heat to the
-proper temperature for casting into the moulds. When the cakes are cold,
-they are packed away in barrels containing 1 cwt., 1 qr. each, and put
-into store. Care must be taken, in melting the saltpetre, not to raise
-it to too high a temperature, as this would reduce the quantity of
-oxygen, and form nitrite of potash, which would render it unfit as an
-ingredient in the composition of Gunpowder.
-
-  ~A neutral salt.~
-
-Saltpetre is a neutral salt, the constituents of which are 46.55 potash,
-and 53.45 nitric acid; the latter consisting of two volumes nitrogen and
-five of oxygen. It is white, and of a fresh, sharp, and slightly bitter
-taste. It crystallizes in six-sided prisms. Exposed to the air, it
-remains permanent unless impure, or that the atmosphere is very moist.
-
-
-NEW METHOD.
-
-  ~New method.~
-
-Forty cwt. of the grough saltpetre is put into a copper with 270 gallons
-of water, and treated in precisely the same way as we have before
-described for the first refining; it is then filtered and run off into
-large troughs, about 10 feet long by 6 feet wide, and 9 inches deep,
-lined with sheet copper; this liquor is then kept in a state of
-agitation by a wooden rake, until nearly cold. By this process a large
-quantity of very minute crystals are formed, which are collected as they
-form by a wooden hoe, and shovelled with a spade on to a framework
-covered with copper sieving resting on the opposite sides of the trough,
-and allowed to drain. These fine white crystals, which have exactly the
-appearance of snow, when they have drained sufficiently, are raked over
-in a washing cistern adjoining, which is about 6 feet long, 4 feet wide,
-and 3ft. 6in. deep, and fitted with a false wooden bottom that can be
-removed at pleasure. Cold water is allowed to run on to the saltpetre in
-this cistern till it is nearly level with the top. After remaining for
-an hour it is drained off, and filled again with fresh water, which is
-drained off after about another hour. The saltpetre thus obtained is
-perfectly pure, and equal in every respect to the treble-refined by the
-old method. The water remaining in the cisterns after agitation, is left
-till the next morning, when a quantity of larger crystals are formed on
-the bottom and sides; these are equal to once-refined by the old method,
-and are used with grough; the mother-liquor is then drained off, and
-evaporated in the usual way. The water from each washing is conveyed
-into cisterns, and used with grough saltpetre instead of water; but, as
-it contains a small portion of saltpetre in solution, a lesser quantity
-of grough is used to make the proportions correct.
-
-  ~Drying.~
-
-The saltpetre flour, however, contains a certain degree of moisture,
-which has to be dried off in the following way: two large copper trays,
-about 10 feet by 6 feet, with a 3-inch rim, are fixed over flues heated
-by a furnace, 4 inches of sand being between the flues and the bottom of
-the trays; the saltpetre is spread about 2 inches deep all over, and
-raked about till dry; it is then barrelled up for use. It takes about
-two hours to dry 5 cwt.
-
-  ~Comparison of the two methods.~
-
-On comparing the two systems, there cannot for one moment be a doubt as
-to the immense advantages of the latter over the former. As an example,
-in the refinery where this new process is carried on, the result (that
-is to say, pure saltpetre) is obtained in one day instead of six, with
-less than one half the amount of labour and coals.
-
-  ~Why new method best.~
-
-On reflection, the reason of the great gain of time by this process will
-suggest itself. In the former method, when allowed to remain quiet, the
-crystals formed are very large, and the spaces left in them always
-contain a certain amount of mother-water, which necessitates its being
-crystallized three times to perfectly free it from the liquor. In the
-latter, the crystals are so minute that there is practically no space
-for the mother-water to collect; consequently, by careful washing, the
-saltpetre is obtained perfectly pure.
-
-
-CHARCOAL.
-
-  ~Charcoal.~
-
-  ~Object of charring.~
-
-  ~Best wood for charcoal.~
-
-Wood charcoal is the woody fibre that remains after the liquid and more
-volatile parts have been driven off by the fire in the process of
-charring. The temperature resulting from the combustion of charcoal is
-much higher than that from burning wood, in consequence of the absence
-of the large quantity of water which wood contains, amounting to between
-50 and 60 per cent.; the object, therefore, of charring wood is the
-removal of moisture, and also, what is of great importance, the
-expulsion of those matters contained in it which become volatile before
-they are burned, thus rendering a large amount of heat latent. The woods
-generally used in this country in making charcoal for gunpowder are the
-alder, willow, and dogwood. There are about 60 acres of wood grown for
-charcoal at Waltham Abbey. The alder is cut every eight years, and the
-willow in six years. It is used after one year. Other woods are
-sometimes used by English and foreign manufacturers, but none produce a
-powder of such quality as obtained from the above. It is usually
-considered that better charcoal is distilled when the wood is allowed to
-season for a time; but recent experience has shown that wood only lately
-cut and peeled, after being desiccated in a hot chamber, will make
-equally good charcoal with that which has been seasoning for three or
-four years.
-
-  ~First process.~
-
-All the wood which is cut in the Government grounds or purchased from
-merchants, is stripped of the bark, on account of its being impregnated
-with salts and gummy substances, cut into lengths of 3 feet for the
-convenience of loading the iron slips, which are a little above this
-length, and stacked in the wood-yard.
-
-  ~Cylinder charcoal.~
-
-  ~Quantity produced.~
-
-  ~Qualities.~
-
-  ~Kept dry.~
-
-  ~Absorbs.~
-
-Cylindrical cases of the required size, fitted with lids, are filled
-with wood. These cases are made to fit easily, and slide horizontally
-into iron retorts built in the wall, which admit of the accurate
-regulation of heat (communicated to them by furnaces underneath)
-throughout the operation of charring. A great saving of time and heat is
-effected by their use, as when the wood has been properly charred the
-case or slip containing it may be easily withdrawn, and another
-containing a fresh charge at once introduced into the retort, without
-allowing the latter to cool down, as would otherwise be necessary. When
-it has been sufficiently charred (which is known by experience, in
-watching the burning of the gas that is produced and is conducted into
-the fire), the slip is withdrawn by tackling, and at once lowered down
-into iron coolers or cases, which are immediately covered up with
-close-fitting lids, and then allowed to remain until all fire is
-extinguished. The goodness of charcoal is an essential point in the
-manufacture of gunpowder. About twenty-five to thirty per cent. is
-obtained; and one cord will produce about four cwt. of charcoal. If
-properly charred, it should have a jet black appearance, and when
-powdered a lustre resembling velvet; it should be light and sonorous
-when gently dropped, and its fracture should exhibit the same appearance
-throughout; it should be so soft as not to scratch polished copper, and
-ought not to exhibit any alkali when treated with pure distilled water.
-Charcoal is very porous, and absorbs very greedily gases and moisture
-from the atmosphere; no large store therefore is ever kept, and
-particular care is taken to prepare it only in proportion as it is
-required for use. At all times it must be kept exceedingly dry; when
-whole it will absorb about eight per cent. its weight of moisture, and
-when in powder 15 per cent., so that the fresher the charcoal is the
-better for the powder.
-
-
-SULPHUR.
-
-  ~Sulphur.~
-
-  ~How purified.~
-
-  ~Flowers of sulphur unsuitable.~
-
-Sulphur is a simple, combustible, solid, non-metallic, elementary body.
-It is found generally in great quantities in the neighbourhood of
-volcanoes. It is also obtainable from metallic ores, and readily fuzes.
-At 170° Fahrenheit it begins to evaporate; at 185° to 190° it melts; at
-220° it is perfectly fluid; and at 600° it sublimes. Sulphur is purified
-simply by melting: that which is supplied to Waltham Abbey has been once
-refined, and the following is a description of the apparatus and method
-for purifying and rendering it fit as an ingredient in Gunpowder. A
-large iron pot is set about three feet off the ground, or about the
-height that an ordinary boiling copper is placed, having a furnace
-underneath. This pot has a movable lid, which is fixed into the top of
-the pot with clay, and in which lid is an iron conical plug that can be
-removed at pleasure. From the pot lead two pipes, one to a large
-circular dome, and another to an iron retort, rather below its level.
-The last-mentioned pipe has a casing, or jacket, round it, which can be
-filled with cold water. The communication of these pipes with the
-melting pot can be shut off or opened, as occasion requires, by a
-mechanical arrangement. About 5¹⁄₂ to 6 cwt. of the once-refined sulphur
-is broken up into small pieces, placed in the iron melting pot, and
-subjected to the action of the furnace. The plug in the lid, and the
-pipe leading to the dome are now left open, but the pipe to the retort
-closed. After from two to three hours a pale yellow vapour rises, when
-the plug is put in, and the vapour conducted into the dome, where it
-condenses in the form of an impalpable powder, commonly called flowers
-of sulphur. A small pipe leads from the bottom of the dome, on the
-opposite side, into water, to allow the escape of the air, and sulphuric
-acid is taken up by this water. In about one and a half to two hours
-after, the vapour becomes of a deep iodine colour, when the
-communication with the dome is shut, and the one to the retort opened;
-at the same time, cold water from a tank above is allowed to pass into
-the jacket we have before mentioned, surrounding this pipe. The vapour
-then which distils over is condensed in the pipe, and runs into the
-retort below in the form of a thick yellow fluid. When nearly all has
-distilled, which can be known by the jacket getting cold, the
-communication is again closed with the retort, and the fluid sulphur
-left an hour, to get sufficiently cool to ladle out into moulds, the
-furnace door and the communication with the dome at the same time are
-again thrown open, that the rest of the vapour may pass into the latter.
-The flowers of sulphur thus obtained are used for laboratory purposes,
-being unfit for the manufacture of Gunpowder, from the acid they
-contain, and the crystalline sulphur, after being allowed to cool in the
-moulds, is barrelled up and used as the third ingredient in Gunpowder.
-
-
-PULVERIZING THE INGREDIENTS.
-
-  ~Grinding.~
-
-  ~Screening.~
-
-The three ingredients are now ground separately to a very fine powder.
-The mills (vide plate 1) which effect this, and incorporate, are so
-similar, that a description will be given under the head of
-“Incorporation.” After being ground in this way, the saltpetre is
-passed through a slope cylindrical reel, covered with copper sieving
-wire of 60 meshes to the inch, which, as it revolves, sifts it to the
-required fineness, being then received in a box or bin underneath. The
-charcoal and sulphur are likewise passed through similar reels of 32 and
-60-mesh wire respectively, and that which remains without passing
-through, is ground again under the runners. A very excellent machine has
-been invented by Mr. Hall, the engineer, of Dartford, for grinding
-charcoal, which makes a most useful addition to the Gunpowder factory.
-It consists of a conical drum, working in a conical box, on the same
-principle as a coffee-grinding machine, the axis being vertical. The
-mill is fed with charcoal by a hopper, and, as it passes through in fine
-powder, falls into a revolving reel, which sifts it in the same manner
-as before described, the whole being covered in, to prevent the great
-annoyance of dust, which was felt until lately, from the old charcoal
-mill. The three ingredients having been pulverized, are now fit for the
-mixing process.
-
-
-MIXING THE INGREDIENTS.
-
-  ~Mixing and proportions.~
-
-  ~Green charges.~
-
-The ingredients are now weighed out very accurately, in the proportion
-of 75 nitre, 15 charcoal, and 10 sulphur, in 42lb. charges, viz., nitre,
-31lbs. 8oz., charcoal, 6lbs. 4oz. 13drs., sulphur, 4lbs. 3oz. 3drs., and
-thoroughly mixed in a machine, which consists of a cylindrical gun-metal
-or copper drum, about two feet in diameter, with an axle passing through
-its centre, on which there are metal flyers, like forks. The machinery
-is so arranged that the flyers and drum revolve in opposite directions
-when in motion, at a rate of about one hundred revolutions per minute.
-Five minutes is sufficient for a thorough mixture. The composition is
-then drawn off by a slip into canvas bags the proper size to hold the
-42lb. charges, which are tightly tied, and taken to small magazines.
-These are called green charges, and are now ready for the next process,
-incorporation.
-
-
-THE INCORPORATING MILL.
-
-  ~Incorporation.~
-
-The Incorporating Mill consists of an iron or stone circular flat bed,
-about seven feet in diameter, fixed very firmly in the floor of the
-building which covers it, whereon two iron or stone cylindrical runners,
-from five to seven feet in diameter, fourteen to eighteen inches wide,
-and each weighing from 3 to 4¹⁄₂ tons, revolve. They have a common axle,
-and a vertical shaft passing through the centre of the bed is connected
-with this axle, and to machinery above or below, which communicates the
-motion. These runners are not equidistant from the centre, by which
-arrangement in their revolution every part of the composition on the bed
-is subjected to their action, which is threefold, viz., crushing,
-grinding, and mixing; crushing, from the weight of the cylinders;
-grinding, from the twisting motion which they are forced into from so
-large a diameter revolving in so small a circle; and mixing, from a
-combination of the two former motions. To prevent the powder from
-falling over the side of the bed, a wooden rim, about two feet in
-height, is placed at an angle of forty-five degrees with it, like the
-side of a funnel, and fitted closely all round its circumference. This
-is called the “curb;” and in the centre of the bed a gun-metal ring, or
-“cheese,” as it is termed, about two feet in diameter, and five inches
-high, concentric with the bed, prevents the powder working beyond in
-that direction. Moreover, two scrapers, or “ploughs,” connected by stays
-with the horizontal axle, revolve with the runners, one rubbing against
-the inner, and the other the outer circle. These ploughs are made of
-hard wood, shod with leather and felt, and their use is continually to
-disturb and rout about the composition, and keep it under the path of
-the runners, so that every part should get its share of incorporation.
-The houses or sheds which cover these buildings have hitherto been
-constructed of wood, with either corrugated iron or wooden roofing. The
-new incorporating mills in this factory, which are just completed, are
-built with three sides of strong three-foot brickwork, and the fourth
-side and roof of corrugated iron and glass. They are also placed in a
-line contiguous to each other, the alternate ones only facing the same
-way, so that an explosion from one would probably communicate no
-further, and the lighter parts of the building would blow away, leaving
-the rest entire. Most of the machinery in the factory is driven by
-water-wheels; the motive power of these mills is steam. A horizontal
-shaft, worked by the engine, passes underneath the entire length of the
-building in a cast-iron tank, and a bevel wheel on this shaft is geared
-into another one on the vertical shaft under the centre of each bed,
-which, communicating with the runners, gives the necessary motion.
-
-  ~Water-tanks to prevent explosions.~
-
-In order, as much as possible, to guard against any explosion spreading,
-above each bed, placed so as just to clear the runners, is suspended or
-balanced a copper tank, holding about forty gallons of water. On one
-side of the tank is fixed a small shaft, which communicates with similar
-cisterns over the beds of the mills on either side. The other end of the
-tank rests on a flat board, which is subjected to a great part of the
-force of an explosion. This consequently lifts, disengaging the support
-of the tank, the contents of which drench the bed which has just
-exploded, thereby putting out all fire, and cooling the machinery,
-besides having a similar effect on the mills right and left, preventing,
-by this means, any extension of fire.
-
-
-INCORPORATING THE INGREDIENTS.
-
-  ~Incorporation.~
-
-  ~Mill cake.~
-
-  ~Proof of mill cake.~
-
-The charge is spread pretty evenly over the surface of the bed, and
-moistened with from four to six pints of distilled water; the quantity
-varying according to the state of the atmosphere; the runners are then
-set in motion, and run from seven to eight revolutions per minute for
-three and a half hours, during which time the powder is often routed up
-by a copper-shod spud, and watered slightly with a fine rose watering
-pot, according to the experience of the millman; at the end of this time
-the mixture is thoroughly incorporated, possesses all the chemical
-properties of Gunpowder, and is taken off the bed in the form of a cake,
-varying from a quarter to half an inch in thickness, and of a
-blackish-grey colour. This is called “Mill Cake,” and when broken, the
-fracture should exhibit the same uniform appearance, without presenting
-any sparkling or yellow specks; should this, however, be the case, it is
-a sign of the ingredients not being sufficiently incorporated. In this
-stage it undergoes certain proofs; samples of the cake are taken from
-every charge that is worked, dried in an oven, and granulated; half a
-drachm of this is fired in a vertical eprouvette, which it ought to
-raise 3.5 inches; and half an ounce is flashed on a glass plate. If very
-little residue or ash is left, it is an additional proof of its being
-well incorporated, and that the millman has done his work properly.
-
-  ~Importance of incorporation.~
-
-Incorporation is by far the most important process in the manufacture of
-Gunpowder; for, however carefully the other part of the fabrication is
-carried on, should there be a failing in this, the powder will be worth
-nothing.
-
-  ~Object of manufacture.~
-
-The great and ultimate object to be attained in the manufacture of
-Gunpowder is, to produce that which shall give equal results with equal
-charges; the greatest regularity should therefore be observed in this
-stage. The millman should have great experience; the runners and beds
-should be, as nearly as possible, the same size and weight, and driven
-at the same speed throughout the factory; at any rate, each charge
-should be worked to the same number of revolutions; the motion of the
-runners should also be as uniform as possible, which is very
-satisfactorily accomplished by each water-wheel being regulated by a
-governor.
-
-
-BREAKING DOWN THE MILL CAKE.
-
-  ~Breaking down the mill cake.~
-
-  ~Object of mealing.~
-
-The mill cake, after it comes off the bed of the incorporating mill, is
-placed in wooden tubs, and taken to small-expense magazines, and from
-there, in about twelve hours, to the breaking-down house; the object of
-the machine from which this takes its name, is to reduce the cake to a
-convenient size for the hydraulic-press box, and also that, by being
-crushed again to meal, it may get a more even pressure. It consists of a
-strong gun-metal framework, in which are fixed two pairs of fine-toothed
-or plain rollers, which revolve towards each other, working in spring
-collars, so that on any hard substance getting in by mistake, they would
-open, and allow it to pass through, thereby preventing the dangerous
-friction which would otherwise result. A hopper, or upright wooden
-funnel, capable of holding about 500 lbs. is fixed at one end of the
-machine, and an endless canvass band 2ft. 6in. wide, having strips of
-leather sewn across at intervals of four inches, passes over one roller
-at the bottom of the hopper, and one at the top of the machine. When set
-in motion, this conveys the cake from the hopper to the highest point of
-the band; it then falls through the first pair of rollers, and from
-thence through the second, passing in the form of meal into small wooden
-carriages underneath, which, as they are filled, move forward by a
-self-acting motion, making room for others. The mill cake thus broken
-down, is fit for the press.
-
-
-PRESSING THE MEAL BY THE HYDRAULIC PRESS.
-
-  ~Hydraulic Pressure.~
-
-The meal is now subjected to very powerful pressure; and, in order to
-explain the way in which this is effected, a short description of the
-apparatus must be given. The principle of the hydraulic press is so
-familiar to most, that it will be unnecessary to do more than show how
-the power is applied (vide plate 2).
-
-  ~Description of box.~
-
-A very strong oak box, 2 feet 6 inches square, and 2 feet 9 inches deep,
-is constructed so that two of the sides of the lid will fall back on
-hinges, or form a compact solid box when screwed firmly together.
-Forty-six copper plates, 2 feet 5¹⁄₂ inches square, slide vertically
-into this box, and are kept five-eighths of an inch apart by two metal
-slips with corresponding grooves, which can be removed when necessary.
-
-  ~Quantity pressed.~
-
-  ~Amount of pressure.~
-
-About 800 lbs. of the meal is put into this box while the plates are in
-the position we have described. When full, the slips are withdrawn, the
-plates being then only separated by the powder between them: the lid is
-now firmly screwed down, and the box turned over by an arrangement of
-pulleys, so that the plates which were vertical will now be horizontal.
-The present upper side is then unscrewed, and a travelling crane, moving
-on a rail overhead, is lowered till the claws attached to it hook on to
-two trunnions fixed on the sides of the box; it is now hoisted by means
-of a handwheel windlass, and the box being suspended, is pushed easily
-by means of the rail, and deposited in this position on to the table of
-the ram under the press block. The pumps are now set in motion by a
-water-wheel, and are allowed to work up to the required pressure, which
-is about seventy tons to the square foot; it is then conveyed from under
-the block in the same manner, and very easily unloaded. The press cake
-is then taken out in layers between each plate, resembling dark pieces
-of slate, about half an inch in thickness. After a day or so, this
-hardens so much as to be difficult to break, and the appearance of the
-fracture resembles that of the finest earthenware. Many important
-advantages are gained by this pressure, of which the following are the
-principal:--
-
-  ~Reasons for pressure.~
-
-First, the density of the powder is increased, which prevents it falling
-to dust in transport, or by rough usage. Secondly, its keeping qualities
-are improved, for it withstands the action of the atmosphere, and
-absorbs less moisture than a porous light powder. Thirdly, it produces
-more grain in the manufacture than mill cake; and a less proportion,
-consequently, is lost in dust. Fourthly, a closer connection of the
-ingredients is obtained. Fifthly, a greater volume of inflammable gas is
-produced from a certain bulk, than from a corresponding bulk of lighter
-powder.
-
-  ~Disadvantages of pressure.~
-
-The range, however, is lessened, from a greater quantity being blown out
-of a gun unignited; but this small loss is more than counterbalanced by
-the former advantages, and actually it is only perceptible in newly-made
-powder; for a light, porous powder soon loses its superior range from
-its absorption of moisture, while that of the dense powder remains
-unaltered.
-
-
-GRANULATING THE PRESS CAKE.
-
-  ~Mode of granulation.~
-
-  ~Screening.~
-
-The next process is granulation, or reducing this press cake into the
-proper sized grain for cannon, musket, or rifle powder. The machine
-which effects this is very beautifully contrived, and is entirely
-self-acting, obviating the necessity of any one being in the building
-while it is in motion. It resembles, in appearance and action, the
-breaking-down machine, except that it is larger, and is fitted with
-three pairs of toothed rollers, of different degrees of fineness,
-working in the same kind of collars already mentioned, so that, on any
-hard substance passing through, they would open accordingly, and thus
-prevent friction. At one end of the machine is a wooden hopper, or
-funnel, which is filled with the press cake. This is contrived so as to
-rise gradually by the motion of the machine, and constantly to supply an
-endless band, similar to the one described in the breaking-down house.
-When the cake arrives at the highest point of this band, it falls over,
-and is granulated between the first pair of gun-metal rollers. Under
-each pair is a screen, covered with 8-mesh wire. All that is not
-sufficiently small to pass through, is carried on to the next pair of
-rollers; and, in like manner, that which does not pass through the
-second screen is carried to the third pair. In addition to these
-screens, there are three oblong sieves covered with 8- and 16-mesh wire,
-and 56 cloth respectively, fixed under, and parallel to, each other,
-each being separated by about four inches of space, running at an
-incline just below the three pairs of rollers; these all lead to little
-wooden carriages placed on the opposite side of the machine, which are
-divided so as to collect the different sized grain as it passes down. To
-facilitate the separation and sifting of the powder, and to prevent
-masses of it forming and clogging up the wire, a shaking motion is
-imparted by a circular wheel attached to the framework of these sieves
-revolving against an octagonal one fixed to the machine. The grains
-which pass through each screen below the rollers fall on the upper one
-of these three last-mentioned sieves. That portion which passes through
-this, and is retained on the 16-mesh wire, is cannon powder; that
-passing through the 16-mesh sieve, and retained on the 56-cloth, is fine
-grain; and a board, running also parallel underneath, retains the dust
-that passes through the cloth.
-
-  ~Chucks regranulated.~
-
-The “chucks,” as they are called, or those grains that are too large to
-pass through these different sieves, are collected in the same way as
-the grain, and undergo the process of granulation again.
-
-
-DUSTING LARGE-GRAIN POWDER.
-
-  ~Object of dusting.~
-
-  ~How performed for large-grain.~
-
-  ~Glazed at same time.~
-
-The keeping qualities of powder are very much improved by removing the
-dust, which quickly absorbs moisture from the atmosphere. This
-operation, for large-grain, is performed by cylindrical reels, about
-8ft. 6in. long, and 3ft. 8in. in diameter, clothed with 28-mesh canvas,
-which revolve at the rate of thirty-eight times per minute. Those for
-large-grain are called horizontal reels, in contradistinction to those
-for fine-grain, that are called slope reels. Each is enclosed by a
-wooden case, to prevent the dust flying about the house. When the powder
-has run its time, one end of the reel is lowered. It then runs out into
-barrels placed to receive it. This entirely separates the dust, and
-imparts a fine black gloss, which is sufficient glazing for the
-large-grained powder.
-
-
-DUSTING FINE-GRAIN POWDER.
-
-  ~Dusting fine-grain.~
-
-The fine-grain powder has a much greater proportion of dust when it
-leaves the granulating house than the large-grain, and it is found
-necessary, on this account, to use a different kind of reel. They
-resemble those for the former powder, except that they are covered with
-44-mesh canvas instead of 28, and are placed at an incline which
-prevents their being choked up with the quantity of dust; each end is
-also open, and a continuous stream of powder, fed by a hopper, passes
-through while they revolve, and pours out at the lower end into barrels.
-This process is repeated a second time, which sufficiently frees it from
-dust.
-
-
-GLAZING FINE-GRAIN POWDER.
-
-  ~Glazing fine-grain.~
-
-The fine-grain powder thus dusted, is then glazed for three hours in
-barrels capable of holding 300lbs. which are 3ft. 6-in. in length, and
-2ft. 8-in. in diameter, revolving at the rate of thirty two times in a
-minute. By the mere friction of the grains against each other and the
-inside of the barrel, a glaze is imparted, presenting a fine polished
-surface to the grain.
-
-  ~Object of glazing.~
-
-Powder glazed in this way withstands the action of moisture to a far
-greater extent than unglazed powder, and in transport very little dust
-is formed.
-
-
-STOVING OR DRYING POWDER.
-
-  ~Drying.~
-
-A drying-room, heated by steam pipes, is fitted with open framework
-shelves, on which rests small wooden trays about 3ft. long, 1ft. 6-in.
-in breadth, and 2¹⁄₂in. deep, having canvas bottoms; on each is spread
-8lbs. of powder. This room holds about 40 barrels, or 4,000lbs., which
-remains in it for twenty four hours, and is subjected to a heat of 130°
-Fahrenheit for sixteen hours, communicated by steam passing through
-pipes arranged horizontally on the floor of the room. The temperature is
-raised and lowered gradually, otherwise the too sudden change would be
-likely to destroy the texture of the grain. The ceiling and roof are
-fitted with ventilators, through which all the moisture escapes, so that
-there is a constant current of hot air circulating through the room. It
-is of the greatest importance that the vapour should be carried off;
-for, if this is not effectually done, on the decrease of temperature, it
-would return to its liquid state, and form again on the powder.
-
-
-FINISHING DUSTING.
-
-  ~Final dusting.~
-
-  ~Barrelling.~
-
-The action of heat however produces a small portion of dust; both these
-powders, therefore, when they leave the stove, are reeled in horizontal
-reels, clothed with 28 and 44-mesh canvas respectively, for one hour and
-a half. This perfectly separates any remaining dust, and gives the
-finishing glaze to the large-grain powder. This is the final process,
-and the powder thus finished is taken to the barrelling-up house;
-weighed out into barrels holding 100lbs. each; marked L. G.
-(large-grain), and F. G. (fine-grain), as the case may be; and stored in
-magazines.
-
-
-EXAMINATION AND PROOF OF GUNPOWDER.
-
-  ~Desired properties of gunpowder.~
-
-  ~Specific gravity.~
-
-  ~Strength.~
-
-  ~Purity.~
-
-The great and ultimate object to be attained in the manufacture of
-Gunpowder is, not so much to produce that which ranges the highest, as
-one that shall be durable in its texture, not easily deteriorated by
-atmospheric influence or transport, and one with which equal charges
-shall produce equal effects. It should present uniformity in the
-appearance of its grains, which should be angular, crisp and sharp to
-the touch, not easily reduced to dust by pressure between the fingers,
-or dusty in handling; its specific gravity should not be under 55lbs. to
-the cubic foot, (that of Waltham Abbey is generally 58lbs.) taking water
-at 1000ozs.; its strength is tested by firing three rounds from an 8
-inch mortar, throwing a 68-pounder solid shot with a charge of 2oz. this
-should give a range of from 270 to 300 feet. The distance however,
-varies considerably, according to the state of the atmosphere, and the
-density of the powder: for, the greater the density, the less the range
-in small charges. Half an ounce flashed on a glass plate should leave
-little or no residuum; should white beads or globules appear, it is a
-sign of imperfect incorporation.
-
-
-PROOF OF MERCHANT’S POWDER.
-
-The following are the different proofs merchant’s powder is subjected
-to:--
-
-Lots of 100 barrels are sent in, marked with the number of the lot and
-the maker’s name on the head of each barrel. 25 per cent. of these are
-unheaded in the examining house; the Proof Officer then--
-
-  ~If dusty.~
-
-First, takes a bowl out of each barrel, and holding it about three feet
-above, pours it out quickly; should there be a good deal of dust, it is
-satisfactorily shown by this means.
-
-  ~Firmness.~
-
-  ~Size of grain.~
-
-Secondly, it is handled and pressed between the fingers, to test the
-firmness of its grain; and should there appear to be any great
-difference in the proportions of different sizes to that laid down as a
-standard, it is sifted and compared accordingly, being rejected should
-the quantities fall short or exceed the sample in any great degree.
-
-  ~Density.~
-
-Thirdly, a barrel or two are selected, and the powder poured into a
-hopper, under which is placed a box very carefully constructed, so as to
-hold exactly a cubic foot. A slide is now withdrawn at the bottom of the
-hopper, and the powder allowed to run into the box in a continuous even
-stream until it is piled up; the hopper is then removed, and the powder
-struck off with a straight edge, level with the top of the box. The
-weight is now carefully taken, that of the latter being subtracted;
-should this not amount to 55lbs. it is rejected, as not being of
-sufficient density.
-
-  ~Strength by range.~
-
-Fourthly, samples are taken from every barrel, and lot for the firing
-proof.
-
-Firing Proof.--An average of nine rounds of sample Waltham Abbey powder
-is taken, three rounds being respectively fired at the beginning,
-middle, and end of the proof, from the same kind of mortar before
-mentioned, with a charge of 2oz. An average of three rounds of each lot
-of the merchant’s powder is also taken; should it fall short by more
-than 1 in 20, it is rejected.
-
-  ~Purity by flashing.~
-
-Fifthly, to ascertain if any residuum or ash is left after ignition,
-about half an ounce is burned on a clean glass plate, and fired with a
-hot iron. The explosion should be sharp, and produce a sudden concussion
-in the air; and the force and power of this concussion should be judged
-by that of known good quality. Few sparks should fly off, nor should
-white beads or globules appear, as it would be a sure indication, as we
-have before explained, of insufficient incorporation. It is also
-subjected to a second proof.
-
-  ~Purity by weight after exposure to damp.~
-
-Second proof.--A sample of 1lb. from each lot, carefully weighed up, and
-a similar sample of the comparison powder, is exposed for three weeks in
-a box perforated with holes (called a damp chest), to the action of the
-atmosphere. This box is placed under cover, so that it is sheltered from
-the wet, but that the moisture can get to it. If, at the end of this
-time, there is a greater proportion of difference in range between them
-than one-twentieth, it is rejected. The pounds are also very carefully
-weighed up again, to ascertain the comparative absorption of moisture.
-This is called the hygrometric test.
-
-
-REMARKS ON THE PROOF OF POWDER BY THE EPROUVETTES.
-
-  ~By eprouvettes or pendulum.~
-
-By comparing the results of the proofs by the eprouvettes with those
-furnished by the cannon pendulum (vide plate 1, fig. 2 and 3), it will
-appear that the eprouvettes are entirely useless as instruments for
-testing the relative projectile force of different kinds of powder, when
-employed in large charges in a cannon. Powders of little density, or of
-fine grain, which burn most rapidly, give the highest proof with the
-eprouvettes, whilst the reverse is nearly true with the cannon.
-
-  ~Real use of eprouvettes.~
-
-The only real use of these eprouvettes is to check and verify the
-uniformity of a current manufacture of powder, where a certain course of
-operations is intended to be regularly pursued, and where the strength,
-tested by means of any instrument, should therefore be uniform.
-
-  ~Best proof, by service charges.~
-
-The only reliable mode of proving the strength of Gunpowder is, to test
-it with service charges in the arms for which it is designed; for which
-purpose the balistic pendulums (vide plate 3), are perfectly adapted.
-
-  ~Best proof for small arms.~
-
-For the proof of powder for small arms, the small balistic pendulum is a
-simple, convenient, and accurate instrument.
-
-  ~Common eprouvette.~
-
-The common eprouvettes are of no value as instruments for determining
-the relative force of different kinds of Gunpowder.
-
-
-OF THE SIZE OF GRAIN FOR GUNPOWDER.
-
-  ~On size of grain.~
-
-With regard to the particular size of grain for Gunpowder, I am
-confident great improvements might be made, both in obtaining greater
-regularity of effect and propelling force, by the adoption of a more
-uniform even grain. There are at present half-a-dozen different sizes in
-our cannon and musket powder; and I think it stands to reason, that the
-more equal the size, the more uniform will be the ignition of all the
-grains, and consequently the effect of the same charges will be much
-more regular.
-
-
-OBSERVATIONS ON THE MANUFACTURE OF GUNPOWDER ON THE CONTINENT AND
-AMERICA.
-
-It may not be uninteresting to have a slight knowledge of the method
-employed on the Continent, &c., for the production of Gunpowder.
-
-  ~Proportion of the ingredients.~
-
-The proportions of the three ingredients vary slightly all over the
-Continent and America, being as follows:--
-
-                   SALTPETRE.  CHARCOAL.  SULPHUR.
-  France         }    75        12.5       12.5
-  Belgium        }
-  Russia              73.78     13.59      12.63
-  Prussia             75        13.5       11.5
-  Austria             75.5      13.2       11.3
-  Spain               76.47     10.78      12.75
-  United States       76        14         10
-
-
-PRODUCTION AND PURIFICATION OF THE INGREDIENTS.
-
-  ~Production and purification of the ingredients.~
-
-The nitre is purified in a similar way to the new method employed at
-Waltham Abbey, though it is seldom obtained with so faint a trace of
-chlorides, owing probably to its being of an inferior quality, and of
-higher refraction when it is imported.
-
-The sulphur is supplied to the manufactories in France in the form of
-roll sulphur, from Marseilles and Bordeaux, where there are very large
-refineries.
-
-The charcoal is prepared from dogwood, alder, willow, hazel, and poplar,
-sometimes in pits, and occasionally in cylinders, as at Waltham Abbey.
-At Wetteren, and in some parts of France, it is distilled by the action
-of steam. The “charbon roux” taking its name from its brownish-red
-tinge, from being only partially burned, was used formerly more than
-now, as the powder made from it was found to injure and exert very
-pernicious effects upon fire-arms.
-
-
-PULVERIZING AND MIXING THE INGREDIENTS.
-
-  ~Pulverizing and mixing the ingredients.~
-
-The ingredients are generally pulverized in copper drums, capable of
-holding 224 kilogrammes. Part of the charcoal is mixed with the sulphur,
-and part of the sulphur with the saltpetre. They are then put into
-separate drums, which revolve about twenty-five times per minute for
-three hours, and in which are about 500 gun-metal or bronze balls, the
-size of good large marbles. The ingredients are brought to the most
-minute state of division by these means, and are then mixed all
-together, for one hour, in similar drums covered with leather,
-containing wooden balls.
-
-
-INCORPORATING PROCESS.
-
-  ~Incorporation.~
-
-The fine powder thus obtained is sometimes merely moistened, so as to
-form a stiff paste, and passed through rollers, the cake formed, being
-dried and granulated. The incorporating cylinders are used occasionally,
-but the more usual plan adopted on the Continent to effect this
-operation is the stamping-mill, which requires a short description. It
-is nothing more nor less than the pestle-and-mortar principle, each mill
-consisting of from six to twelve bronze or wooden mortars bedded in the
-floor of the building; they are the shape of the frustum of a cone, the
-mouth being much narrower than the base; the pestles, or stampers as
-they are called, are made of wood, shod with either very hard wood or
-bronze, on which project wooden teeth about twelve inches long; a
-vertical movement is imparted to them by a shaft worked by the
-water-wheel having similar teeth attached; in its revolution it raises
-the stamper about eighteen inches, which falls again as the projection
-is disengaged, twenty five times in a minute. This operation is carried
-on for twelve hours, during which period the charge (about 15lbs.) is
-moistened at intervals, and routed up with a copper-shod spud; at the
-end of this time the cake is taken out, and left to dry and harden; it
-seldom receives any pressure--although, in some manufactories, presses
-are being erected.
-
-
-GRANULATING.
-
-  ~Granulation.~
-
-The cake is then granulated in sets of sieves fitting one into the
-other, having perforated zinc bottoms of different degrees of fineness,
-which are suspended from the ceiling of the room by ropes, an ash spring
-being attached to each box holding the sieves, the cake is put into the
-uppermost one with some gun-metal balls, and shaken backwards and
-forwards, which motion the spring facilitates; it is thus broken up into
-different sized grains, which are separated by passing through the
-several meshes.
-
-The grain formed is then dusted in bags or shaking-frames covered with
-canvas, and then glazed in barrels.
-
-
-STOVING OR DRYING.
-
-  ~Drying.~
-
-  ~Comparative merits of foreign and English gunpowder.~
-
-In summer the process of drying is often performed in the sun, and in
-winter by the steam stove, in the following way. The powder is spread
-about three or four inches thick on a large canvas tray, under which is
-an arrangement of pipes, which convey the hot air forced by a fan
-through a cylinder heated by steam: it is considered to be sufficiently
-dried in from three to four hours, during which time it is occasionally
-raked about. In some manufactories it undergoes a further operation of
-being dusted, and is then barrelled up for use. Generally the great
-failure in the foreign manufacture is the neglect of the principal stage
-of the fabrication, viz. incorporation; with the old stamping-mill, it
-is quite impossible that the process can be carried out to the necessary
-extent. The Continental powder is usually very soft in its grain,
-dusty, and quickly absorbs moisture from the atmosphere; its density is
-below the English powder, on account of its never being subjected to
-pressure; consequently it is not so durable, and forms a good deal of
-dust in transport; a great amount of residue is generally left in the
-gun, and its strength, as a propelling agent, is far inferior to our
-powders. On being flashed on a glass plate, instead of producing a
-sudden concussion, like the sharp rap of a hammer, it burns more like
-composition, throwing off a quantity of sparks.
-
-
-NEW RIFLE POWDER.
-
-The following mode of manufacturing rifle powder, appeared in Garrison
-Orders at Woolwich, 31st December, 1859:
-
-  Composition in 100 parts:--
-
-  Saltpetre    75
-  Charcoal     15
-  Sulphur      10
-              ---
-              100
-
-The charcoal to be prepared from dogwood, burned slowly in cylinders
-three hours. The composition to be worked under the runners for five and
-a half hours, and submitted to a pressure of about 50 tons to the square
-foot. The size of the grain to be that collected between sieves of 16
-and 24 meshes. The grain to be glazed for five hours.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-  NOTE.--The foregoing, on the manufacture of gunpowder, is principally
-  taken from an article in the Aide Memoire (1860), by Major Baddeley,
-  Royal Artillery; Captain Instructor, Waltham Abbey.
-
-
-
-
-ON MAGAZINES.
-
-
-It is impossible to make powder magazines too dry, and every care should
-be taken to ventilate them as much as possible during dry weather, by
-opening all doors, windows, loopholes, &c. Magazines are generally made
-bomb-proof, and are furnished with lightning conductors. They are
-divided into chambers, and these again divided by uprights into bays. At
-Purfleet, which is the grand depôt for gunpowder in England, there are
-five magazines capable of containing 9,600 whole barrels each. Each
-magazine is divided into two chambers, and each chamber into 24 bays,
-and in each bay is placed 200 whole, 400 half, or 800 quarter barrels of
-powder. Total in the five Magazines, 48,000 barrels, equal to 4,800,000
-pounds.
-
-
-
-
-LIGHTNING CONDUCTORS.
-
-  _Principles and Instructions relative to their application to Powder
-  Magazines, by_ SIR W. SNOW HARRIS, F.R.S. _Extracted from Army List
-  for July, 1859._
-
-
-1.--Thunder and lightning result from the operation of a peculiar
-natural agency through an interval of the atmosphere contained between
-the surface of a certain area of clouds, and a corresponding area of the
-earth’s surface directly opposed to the clouds. It is always to be
-remembered that the earth’s surface and the clouds are the terminating
-planes of the action, and that buildings are only assailed by Lightning
-because they are points, as it were, in, or form part of, the earth’s
-surface, in which the whole action below finally vanishes. Hence
-buildings, under any circumstances, will be always open to strokes of
-Lightning, and no human power can prevent it, whether having Conductors
-or not, or whether having metals about them or not, as experience shows.
-
-2.--Whenever the peculiar agency, (whatever it may be), active in this
-operation of nature, and characterized by the general term Electricity,
-or Electric Fluid, is confined to substances which are found to resist
-its progress, such, for example, as air, glass, resinous bodies, dry
-wood, stones, &c., then an explosive form of action is the result,
-attended by such an evolution of light and heat, and by such an enormous
-expansive force, that the most compact and massive bodies are rent in
-pieces, and inflammable matter ignited. Nothing appears to stand against
-it. Granite rocks are split open, oak and other trees, of enormous size,
-rent in shivers, and masonry of every kind frequently laid in ruins. The
-lower masts of ships of the line, 3 feet in diameter, and 110 feet long,
-bound with hoops of iron half an inch thick and 5 inches wide, the whole
-weighing about 18 tons, have been, in many instances, torn asunder, and
-the hoops of iron burst open and scattered on the decks. It is, in fact,
-this terrible expansive power which we have to dread in cases of
-buildings struck by Lightning, rather than the actual heat attendant on
-the discharge itself.
-
-3.--When, however, the electrical agency is confined to bodies, such as
-the metals, which are found to oppose but small resistance to its
-progress, then this violent expansive or disruptive action is either
-greatly reduced, or avoided altogether. The explosive form of action we
-term Lightning, vanishes, and becomes, as it were, transformed into a
-sort of continuous current action, of a comparatively quiescent kind,
-which, if the metallic substance it traverses be of certain known
-dimensions, will not be productive of any damage to the metal. If,
-however, it be of small capacity, as in the case of a small wire, it may
-become heated and fused. In this case, the electrical agency, as before,
-is so resisted in its course as to admit of its taking on a greater or
-less degree of explosive and heating effect, as in the former case. It
-is to be here observed, that all kinds of matter oppose some resistance
-to the progress of what is termed the Electrical Discharge, but the
-resistance through capacious metallic bodies is comparatively so small,
-as to admit of being neglected under ordinary circumstances; hence it is
-that such bodies have been termed Conductors of Electricity, whilst
-bodies such as air, glass, &c., which are found to oppose very
-considerable resistance to electrical action, are placed at the opposite
-extremity of the scale, and termed Non-conductors or Insulators.
-
-The resistance of a metallic copper wire to an ordinary electrical
-discharge from a battery, was found so small, that the shock traversed
-the wire at the rate of 576,000 miles in a second. The resistance
-however, through a metallic line of Conduction, small as it be,
-increases with the length, and diminishes with the area of the section
-of the Conductor, or as the quantity of metal increases.
-
-4.--It follows from these established facts, that if a building were
-metallic in all its parts, an iron magazine for example, then no damage
-could possibly arise to it from any stroke of Lightning which has come
-within the experience of mankind; e.g., a man in armour is safe from
-damage by Lightning; in fact, from the instant the electrical discharge
-in breaking with disruptive and explosive violence through the resisting
-air, seizes upon the mass in any point of it, from that instant the
-explosive action vanishes, and the forces in operation are neutralized
-upon the terminating planes of action, viz., the surface of the earth,
-and opposed clouds.
-
-5.--All this plainly teaches us, that in order to guard a building
-effectually against damage by Lightning, we must endeavour to bring the
-general structure as nearly as may be, into that passive or
-non-resisting state it would assume, supposing the whole were a mass of
-metal.
-
-6.--To this end, one or more conducting channels of copper depending
-upon the magnitude and extent of the building should be systematically
-applied to the walls; these conducting channels should consist either of
-double copper plates united in series one over the other, as in the
-method of fixing such Conductors to the masts of Her Majesty’s Ships,
-the plates being not less than 3¹⁄₂ inches wide, and of ¹⁄₁₆th and ¹⁄₈th
-of an inch in thickness, or the Conductors may with advantage be
-constructed of stout copper pipe not less than ³⁄₁₆ths of an inch thick,
-and 1¹⁄₂ to 2 inches in diameter: in either case the Conductors should
-be securely fixed to the walls of the building, either by braces, or
-copper nails, or clamps; they should terminate in solid metal rods
-above, projecting freely into the air, at a moderate and convenient
-height above the point to which they are fixed, and below they should
-terminate in one or two branches leading outward about a foot under the
-surface of the earth; if possible, they should be connected with a
-spring of water or other moist ground.
-
-It would be proper in certain dry situations, to lead out in several
-directions under the ground, old iron or other metallic chains, so as to
-expose a large extent of metallic contact in the surface of the earth.
-
-7.--All the metals in the roof and other parts of the building of
-whatever kind, should so far as possible have metallic communication
-with these Alarm Conductors, and in case of any prominent elevated
-chimney, it would be desirable to lead a pointed conducting tube along
-it to the metals of the roof; all of which satisfies the conditions
-above specified.
-
-8.--Remark 1.--It is now proved beyond all questions, that the
-electrical discharge never leaves perfect conducting lines of small
-resistance, in order to pass out upon bad conducting circuits, in which
-the resistance is very great, that is an established law of nature;
-hence a stroke of Lightning upon such conducting lines will be confined
-to the Conductors as constituting a line of discharge of less resistance
-than any other line of discharge through the building, which can be
-assigned. The apprehension of “Lateral Discharge” therefore, from the
-Conductor, is quite absurd; and is not countenanced by any fact
-whatever; if any doubt could possibly exist, it would be now most
-completely set at rest by the experience of the permanent Conductors,
-applied to the masts of Her Majesty’s ships. In very many instances
-furious discharges of Lightning have fallen on the masts with a crash as
-if the ship’s broadside had been fired, and the solid point aloft has
-been found melted; in all these cases electrical discharge robbed by the
-Conductor of its explosive violence, has traversed the line of action to
-the sea, through the ship, and through the copper bolts, driven through
-the ship’s solid timbers, without the least damage to the surrounding
-masses, whether metallic, as in the case of the massive iron hoops on
-the lower masts, or not. Persons have either been close by or actually
-leaning against the Conductors at the time, without experiencing any ill
-consequence.
-
-9.--Remark 2.--It has also been incontestably shown, that metallic
-bodies have not any specific attractive force or affinity for the matter
-of Lightning; metals are as little attractive of lightning as wood or
-stone. All matter is equally indifferent to Electricity so far as
-regards a specific attraction, hence the idea that metals attract or
-invite Lightning is a popular but very unlearned error contradicted by
-the most satisfactory evidence, and the whole course of experience; in
-short, we find that Lightning falls indiscriminately upon trees, rocks,
-and buildings, whether the buildings have metals about them or not.
-
-10.--Remark 3.--A building that is hence clear, may be struck and
-damaged by Lightning without having a particle of metal in its
-construction; if there be metals in it, however, and they happen to be
-in such situations as will enable them to facilitate the progress of the
-electrical discharge, so far as they go, then the discharge will fall on
-them in preference to other bodies offering more resistance, but not
-otherwise; if metallic substances be not present, or if present, they
-happen to occupy places in which they cannot be of any use in helping on
-the discharge in the course it wants to go, then the electricity seizes
-upon other bodies, which lie in that course, or which can help it,
-however small their power of doing so, and in this attempt such bodies
-are commonly, but not always, shattered in pieces. The great law of the
-discharge is,--progress between the terminating planes of action,
-viz:--the clouds and earth, and in such line or lines as upon the whole,
-offer the least mechanical impediment or resistance to this operation,
-just as water falling over the side of a hill in a rain storm, picks out
-or selects as it were by the force of gravity, all the little furrows or
-channels which lie convenient to its course, and avoids those which do
-not. If in the case of Lightning you provide through the instrumentality
-of efficient Conductors, a free and uninterrupted course for the
-electrical discharge, then it will follow that course without damage to
-the general structure; if you do not, then this irresistible agency will
-find a course for itself through the edifice in some line or lines of
-least resistance to it, and will shake all imperfect conducting matter
-in pieces in doing so; moreover it is to be specially remarked in this
-case, that the damage ensues, not where the metals are, but where they
-cease to be continued, the more metal in a building therefore the
-better, more especially when connected by an uninterrupted circuit with
-any medium of communication with the earth.
-
-Such is, in fact, the great condition to be satisfied in the application
-of Lightning Conductors, which is virtually nothing more than the
-perfecting a line or lines of small resistance in given directions, less
-than the resistance in any other lines in the building, which can be
-assigned in any other direction, and in which by a law of nature the
-electrical agency will move in preference to any others.
-
-11.--It follows from the foregoing principles, that a magazine
-constructed entirely of iron or other metal, would be infinitely more
-safe in Lightning storms than if built with masonry in the usual way;
-metallic roofs for magazines, with capacious metallic Conductors to the
-earth, would be unobjectionable, and a source of security.
-
-Metallic gutters and ridges having continuous metallic connection with
-the earth are also unobjectionable.
-
-A good method of Conductors for magazines built of masonry, would be
-such as already described, regard being had to the position of the
-building, its extent, and most prominent points, also to the nature,
-state, and condition of the soil, whether it be moist or dry, alluvial
-calcareous, or of hard rock; we must also consider the extent,
-disposition, and peculiar position of the metallic bodies entering into
-the general structure of the building, whether the roof be flat,
-pointed, or angular in various parts.
-
-The pointed projecting extremities of the two Conductors, one or more as
-the case may be, will be commonly sufficient; but, in buildings having
-tall chimneys or other elevated prominent points, at a distance from the
-Main Conductor, it will be requisite to guard such chimneys or other
-parts, by a pointed rod, led along them to the metals of the roof, or
-directly connected with the Main Conductors, by metallic connections.
-
-12.--Pointed terminations of the Conductors in the air, are so far
-important that they tend to break the force of a discharge of Lightning
-when it falls on them. In fact, before the great shock actually takes
-place, under the form of a dense explosion, a very large amount of the
-discharge, which otherwise would be concentrated, runs off, as it were,
-through the pointed Conductor; but they have no other influence.
-
-With respect to these pointed terminations, no great care need be taken
-about them, except that they should consist of solid copper rod, of
-about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, and about a foot in length,
-and be united by brazing to the conducting tube, elevated at such
-convenient height above the walls of the building as the case may
-suggest.
-
-As a support to the Conductor, when raised above the wall, we may employ
-a small staff or spar of wood fixed to the masonry.
-
-13.--Copper linings to the doors and window shutters of magazines are
-not objectionable, if requisite, as a precaution against fire; but they
-are useless as a means of keeping out Lightning; on the other hand, it
-is not easy to conceive a case in which the explosion of the gunpowder
-is to be apprehended from the action of Lightning on the doors or
-windows. Supposing, however, such metallic linings desirable as a
-precaution against common cases of fire, then the masses of metal
-should, according to the principles already laid down, have metallic
-communication with the general system of conduction in the building and
-the Main Conductor.
-
-
-
-
-ON THE EXPLOSIVE FORCE OF GUNPOWDER.
-
-
-  ~Advantages of Gunpowder~
-
-The advantages of Gunpowder, as a propelling agent, over any other
-explosive material are, the comparative safety attending its manufacture
-and transport, and the gradual nature of its decomposition when compared
-with those materials, such as fulminating gold, silver, mercury, &c. &c.
-In gunpowder, the force resulting from the rapid evolution of gas in a
-confined space has sufficient time to overcome the inertia of the
-projectile, which is not the case with other explosive materials, the
-conversion of which gaseous products is so instantaneous that nothing
-can resist the intensity of their explosive action. Other advantages
-suggest themselves in the use of Gunpowder, such as the comparative
-cheapness of the ingredients composing it, and the ease with which they
-may be obtained; for the sulphur and saltpetre are very abundant
-productions of nature, and the charcoal can be manufactured cheaply and
-with great facility, and if care is taken in the process of the
-fabrication of powder, little deterioration will take place on its
-exposure to heat or moisture.
-
-  ~Air & Steam as propellants~
-
-Condensed air and steam have been used as propelling agents; but the
-great inconvenience attending their use quite preclude the possibility
-of adapting them to war purposes.
-
-  ~Force of Gunpowder.~
-
-As the force and effect obtained from Gunpowder is the foundation of all
-other particulars relating to Gunnery, we will briefly consider these
-points.
-
-  ~Upon what the action of powder depends.~
-
-The action of Gunpowder is dependent upon a purely chemical process. Mr.
-Robins proved that the force generated by the combustion of gunpowder,
-was owing to an elastic gas which was suddenly disengaged from the
-powder, when it was brought to a certain temperature, and further that
-this disengaged gas had its elastic force greatly augmented by the heat
-evolved by the chemical action.
-
-
-  ~Ingredients are charged with a large volume of heated gas.~
-
-The propelling power of Gunpowder is dependent on the rapid
-decomposition of the nitre into its component parts; the oxygen forms
-carbonic acid with the carbon in the charcoal, and the heat thus
-generated by ignition changes both this and the nitrogen into a large
-volume of heated gas. In a mixture of nitre and charcoal alone, the
-oxidation proceeds with comparative slowness; by the addition of
-sulphur, an augmentation of combustibility is gained, in consequence of
-its igniting at a very low temperature; the sulphur, also, by its
-presence, renders available for the oxidation of the carbon an
-additional amount of oxygen, viz: that which is united with the
-potassium, the latter being at once converted into sulphite upon
-ignition of the powder.
-
-  ~Weight of gas evolved.~
-
-  ~Volume of gas evolved.~
-
-  ~Heat of gas evolved.~
-
-  ~Pressure of gas generated.~
-
-  ~Strength of powder not affected by density of air, but by damp.~
-
-It appears that the weight of gas generated is equal to three tenths of
-the weight of the powder which yielded it, and that its bulk when cold,
-and expanded to the rarity of Common air was 240 times that of the
-powder; the barometer standing at about 30 inches. From this Robins
-concluded that if the fluid occupied a space equal to the volume of the
-gunpowder, its elastic force, when cold, would be 240 times the pressure
-of the atmosphere, when the barometer stands as above. Mr. Robins also
-considered that the heat evolved was at least equal to that of red hot
-iron, and he found by experiments that air heated to this temperature
-had its elasticity quadrupled, and therefore, that the force of gas from
-powder is at least four times 240 = 960, or in round numbers 1,000 times
-as great as the elasticity of the air measured by its pressure on an
-equal extent of surface. From the height of the barometer it is known
-that the pressure of the atmosphere is about 14³⁄₄lbs. upon the square
-inch, so that the pressure of the elastic gas generated by the
-combustion of the gunpowder upon the same area would be 14.75 by 1,000
-or 14,750lbs. at the moment of explosion. He found that the strength of
-Gunpowder was the same whatever might be the density of the atmosphere,
-but that the moisture of the air effected it considerably, in fact that
-the same quantity of powder which would give a bullet an initial
-velocity of 1,700 feet per second on a day when the atmosphere was
-comparatively dry, would upon a damp day give no more than 1,200 or
-1,300 feet.
-
-  ~Velocity of gas~
-
-The velocity of the expansion of the gas is a most important point, upon
-which depends, chiefly, the peculiar value of the substance as a
-propelling agent. Many of the warlike machines of the Ancients produced
-a momentum far surpassing that of our heaviest cannon, but the great
-celerity given to the bodies projected from guns by gunpowder cannot be
-in the least approached by any other means than by the sudden production
-of an elastic gas. Mr. Robins found that the flame of gunpowder expanded
-itself when at the muzzle of the gun with a velocity of 7,000 feet per
-second.
-
-  ~Dr. Hutton’s calculation as to:--_Volume, Temperature, Pressure_.~
-
-  ~Temperature~
-
-  ~Expansion.~
-
-  ~How to calculate expansion~
-
-  ~Absolute force of gunpowder cannot be determined.~
-
-It has been calculated that one cubic inch of powder is converted into
-250 cubic inches of gas at the temperature of the atmosphere, and Dr.
-Hutton states that the increase of volume at the moment of ignition
-cannot be less than eight times; therefore one inch of gunpowder, if
-confined, at the time of explosion exerts a pressure of about 30,000lbs.
-being 250 by 8 by 15 = 30,000lbs. on the cubic inch, or 5,000lbs. on the
-square inch; and which at once accounts for its extraordinary power. The
-value of the temperature to which the gases are raised, on the explosion
-of the powder, has been variously estimated and it may be concluded to
-rise as high as will melt copper, or 4,000° Fahrenheit. All gases expand
-uniformly by heat, the expansion having been calculated with great
-precision, to be ¹⁄₄₈₀th for each degree of Fahrenheit. If therefore we
-take Dr. Hutton’s calculations of one volume of powder expanding into
-250 volumes of gas at the temperature of the atmosphere, and if we
-suppose 4,000° Fahrenheit to be the heat to which they are raised on
-ignition, the expansion of gunpowder would be calculated. Thus, suppose
-the gas to be at 60°, the temperature of the atmosphere, we must deduct
-60° from 4,000°, which will give 3,940, being the number of degrees
-remaining to which it is raised, hence
-
-  temp.     vol.    temp.     vol.       vol.
-             1                3940
-   1°   :   ---    3,940°  :  ----    =  8·2
-            480                480
-
-that is, each volume of gas would at a temperature of 4000° be
-increased 8·2 in volume. Gunpowder when at the temperature of the air
-being expanded 250 times in volume; therefore 250 by 8·2 = 2,050 as the
-increased expansion for each volume of gas generated by the explosion of
-gunpowder at the temperature of 4,000° Fahrenheit. Lieut-Colonel Boxer
-calculates that the heat generated by good dry powder is not under
-3,000° Fahrenheit. It appears with our present knowledge, the absolute
-value of the force of gunpowder cannot be determined. Still by careful
-and extensive experiments no doubt a near approximation to the truth may
-ultimately be arrived at, so that although much has already been done by
-various eminent philosophers, there is still more to be accomplished;
-and the importance of the subject ought to act as a stimulus to the
-exertions of those belonging to a profession the most interested in the
-question.
-
-  ~Loss of velocity by windage.~
-
-It has been found by experiments that in calculating the initial
-velocity of a projectile, one third of the whole force was lost with a
-windage of ¹⁄₁₀th inch with a shot of 1·96-in. and 1·86-in. in diameter.
-The bore of the gun being 2·02-in.
-
-  ~Definition of ignition and combustion.~
-
-By ignition we understand the act of setting fire to a single grain, or
-to a charge of gunpowder, and by combustion we mean the entire
-consumption of a grain or of a charge.
-
-  ~Quickness of combustion.~
-
-Upon the quickness of combustion mainly depends the applicability of
-gunpowder for Military purposes.
-
-  ~Ignition by heat.~
-
-Gunpowder may be inflamed in a variety of ways, but whatever be the
-method, one portion of the substance must in the first instance be
-raised to a temperature a little above that necessary to sublime the
-sulphur, which can be removed from the other ingredients, by gradually
-raising the compound to a heat sufficient to drive it off in a state of
-vapour. The heat required for this purpose is between 600° and 680°
-Fahrenheit.
-
-  ~Progressive combustion.~
-
-When a charge of powder is exploded in the bore of a gun, to all
-appearance there would seem to be an instantaneous generation of the
-whole force. But in fact it is not so, a certain time being necessary to
-the complete combustion of the substance. This gradual firing is of the
-utmost importance, for were it otherwise, the gun, unless of enormous
-strength, must be shattered in pieces, as well as the projectile; for in
-such a case, this great force being suddenly exerted upon one part only
-of the material, there would not be time for the action to be
-distributed over the particles, at any great distance, before those in
-the immediate vicinity of the explosion, were forced out of the sphere
-of action of the cohesive force, and consequently rupture must take
-place.
-
-  ~Substances which have a more violent action than powder.~
-
-The effect of such an action may be observed by exploding detonating
-powders, in which are contained chlorate of potash or fulminating
-mercury. The action of that peculiar substance the chlorite of nitrogen
-is still more remarkable. There is also another compound, containing
-three parts of saltpetre, one part of carbonate of potash and one part
-of sulphur, which when brought to a certain heat will explode with great
-violence, its destructive force being very considerable; and this is
-principally due to the rapidity of the evolution of the gas, for its
-amount is less than that produced from gunpowder, but the complete
-decomposition occurs in a much shorter time.
-
-  ~In a damp state less quickly fired, and why.~
-
-If gunpowder be in a damp state, the velocity of combustion will be less
-than when dry, and also a longer time will be necessary to ignite it,
-since the moisture upon its conversion into vapour, absorbs a certain
-amount of heat which remains latent, and of which the useful effects so
-far as igniting the powder is concerned, is entirely lost.
-
-  ~Ignition by percussion.~
-
-Gunpowder may be ignited by the percussion of copper against copper,
-copper against iron, lead against lead, and even with lead against wood,
-when the shock is very great. It is more difficult to ignite gunpowder
-between copper and bronze,[1] or bronze and wood than between the other
-substances. Again, out of ten samples which were wrapt in paper and
-struck upon an anvil with a heavy hammer, seven of grained powder
-exploded and nine of mealed.
-
-  [1] Bronze consists of 78 parts copper to 20 of tin. Bell metal--78
-  copper and 22 tin. Gun metal--100 copper to 8 to 10 tin. Brass--2
-  copper, 1 zinc and calamine stone, to harden and colour.
-
-  ~Influence of shape of grain on ignition.~
-
-If the part to which the heat is applied be of an angular shape, the
-inflammation will take place quicker than if it be of a round or flat
-form, on account of the greater surface that is exposed to the increased
-temperature.
-
-  ~The form of the grain influences the velocity of the transmission of
-  flame.~
-
-If the grains are of a rounded form, there would be larger interstices,
-and a greater facility will be afforded to the passage of the heated
-gas, and therefore this shape is most favourable to the rapid and
-complete inflammation of each grain in the whole charge. On the other
-hand, particles of an angular or flat form, fitting into each other as
-it were, offer greater obstruction to this motion, and the velocity of
-the transmission of inflammation is thereby diminished.
-
-  ~Effect of size on the velocity of transmission of inflammation.~
-
-If the grains be small, the interstices will be small also, and the
-facility to the expansion of the gas thereby diminished. In the
-experiments with trains of powder, the increased surface exposed to the
-heated gas was found to more than compensate for the diminished facility
-to its expansion, and generally a train of small-grained powder laid
-upon a surface without being enclosed, will be consumed more quickly
-than a train of large-grained powder.
-
-  ~Large grain best suited for heavy ordnance.~
-
-But this is not the case in a piece of ordnance, a circumstance which
-amongst others will account for the diminished initial velocity given to
-the shot by a charge of small-grained musket powder, below that produced
-by the large-grained usually adopted for this service.
-
-  ~Velocity of the transmission of inflammation of the charge.~
-
-  ~Estimate of Mr. Piobert.~
-
-When a number of grains of powder are placed together as in the charge
-of a gun, and a few of them are ignited at one end of the cartridge, a
-certain quantity of gas is developed of a temperature sufficiently high
-to ignite those in their immediate vicinity. This has also such
-elasticity as to enable it to expand itself with considerable velocity.
-Again, the grains which are so ignited continue the inflammation to
-others in the same manner. The absolute velocity of expansion of this
-gas is very considerable; but the grains of gunpowder in the charge
-offer an obstruction to this motion, the gas having to wind its way
-through the interstices, and consequently the velocity is considerably
-diminished, but it is quite clear that it must be very much greater than
-the velocity of combustion. Mr. Piobert estimates the velocity of
-transmission of inflammation of a charge in a gun at about 38 feet per
-second, and in all probability even this is much under the mark.
-
-  ~Experiments made on this subject.~
-
-Many experiments have been made by observing the velocity of
-transmission of inflammation of trains of powder under various
-circumstances, but they do not show us what would be the velocity in a
-confined charge. The velocity increased with the section of the train,
-and further when at the end first lighted, there was an obstruction to
-the escape of gas, as in the case of a gun, a much shorter time was
-required for complete inflammation.
-
-  ~Time of decomposition depends upon form of grain.~
-
-When the charge of powder in a gun is ignited the grains being enveloped
-by the heated gas, we may consider that each grain is ignited over its
-whole surface at once. If the grains of powder were of equal or regular
-form, the time each would be consuming, might be easily calculated, but
-since in ordinary cases they are irregular in form, although the grains
-may be of the same weight, the time necessary for their complete
-decomposition will be very different.
-
-  ~Circumstances affecting combustion.~
-
-The quickness of combustion will depend upon the dryness of the powder,
-the density of the composition, the proportion of the ingredients, the
-mode of manufacture, and the quality of the ingredients.
-
-  ~Combustion of cubical grains considered.~
-
-Were a cubical grain to be ignited upon its whole surface, the
-decomposition may be supposed to take place gradually from the surface
-to the centre, and the original cubical form to remain until the whole
-is consumed, the cube becoming smaller and smaller. If, then, the rate
-of burning be the same throughout, the quantity of gas generated in the
-first half portion of the time will evidently be considerably more than
-in the latter half, as in the latter case there will be a much lesser
-surface under the influence of flame.
-
-  ~Elongated and cylindrical grains.~
-
-If the form of the grain be elongated, then will the quantity of gas
-generated in a given time from a grain of similar weight to that of the
-cube or sphere, be increased, on account of the greater ignited surface,
-and consequently the time necessary for its combustion will be
-diminished. If it be of a cylindrical form for example, this time must
-be reckoned from the diameter of the cylinder, its length not
-influencing it in the least, although as we have seen, it enters into
-the consideration of the quantity of the gas generated in a given time.
-
-  ~Large grain.~
-
-In the ordinary large-grain powder, the majority of the grains are of
-the elongated or flat form, from whence considerable advantage is
-derived, particularly in short guns, since it causes the greatest
-portion of the charge to be decomposed before the projectile is moved
-sensibly from its original position.
-
-  ~Mealed powder.~
-
-If the charge be composed of mealed powder a longer time is found to be
-necessary for the complete combustion of the whole than in the case
-where the substance is granulated, and the initial velocity of a shot is
-reduced about one third by employing the substance in that state.
-
-  ~The effect of granulating gunpowder.~
-
-A piece of pressed cake weighing 1·06oz., was put into a mortar, and a
-globe of some light substance, placed upon it, and the powder being
-consumed after ignition without ejecting the ball from the bore of the
-piece. When an equal quantity was divided into seven or eight pieces,
-the globe was thrown out of the mortar; breaking the cake into twelve
-pieces; the ball ranged 3·3 yards; being further increased to fifty
-grains, it ranged 10·77 yards; and when the ordinary powder was used,
-the ball was projected 56·86 yards.
-
-  ~Action depends upon size and form of grain.~
-
-It will appear from the above remarks, that the force generated from the
-charge of powder in a gun, will be greatly influenced by the size and
-form of the grains composing it.
-
-  ~Density of gunpowder.~
-
-In order to obtain a gunpowder which shall possess a proper amount of
-force, it is necessary that the ingredients should be thoroughly
-incorporated, and the process of incorporation will in great measure
-affect the density of the grains. After going through the process, it is
-subjected to a certain pressure, in order that the substance in
-travelling may not be reduced to a fine powder, which would cause the
-velocity of transmission of inflammation to be diminished. But there is
-a certain point beyond which it would not be advantageous to increase
-the density, and this seems to vary with the size of the grain. With
-large-grain powder the action in a musket, or in guns with small
-charges, is greatest with a low density; while with very small grain,
-the highest velocities are obtained generally with the gunpowder of
-great density; but in heavy guns with ordinary charges, the
-large-grained powder should be of considerable density in order to
-obtain the greatest effect, though still it must not be too great.
-
-  ~Advantages of glazing.~
-
-The principal advantages of glazing are; first, that the powder so
-prepared, will in travelling, owing to the smaller amount of destructive
-force consequent on friction, produce less mealed powder; and secondly,
-that in a damp country like England, the glazing imparts a preserving
-power to the powder, as the polished surface is less likely to imbibe
-moisture than the rough.
-
-  ~Disadvantages of glazing.~
-
-  ~Experiments as to glazing.~
-
-  ~Glazing less hurtful to fine grains.~
-
-The disadvantages of glazing consists in its polishing the surface, and
-thus depriving it of those angular projections which cause the ignition
-and combustion to be carried on with greater rapidity, by rendering the
-interstices smaller, the consequence of which is, that there is not so
-much gas produced previously to the projectile leaving the gun, and in
-large charges a portion will be blown out unfired. There must be a limit
-then to glazing, which it would not be proper to exceed. At an
-experiment with glazed and unglazed powder, the ranges on the eprouvette
-were 75 for glazed, and 98 for unglazed. This loss of power, consequent
-on glazing, has caused it to be done away with in France and Russia.
-With fine grain powder it is not of so much consequence, as it is, to a
-certain degree, corrected by the size of the grain.
-
-  ~Size of grain determined by size of charge.~
-
-  ~Tight ramming bad.~
-
-The rapidity with which a charge of gunpowder is consumed will depend
-not only in a certain degree upon the size of the grain, but on the
-manner in which the charge is put together, for if a charge is closely
-pressed, the gases meeting resistance in their endeavours to escape
-between the interstices, will not propagate the ignition so rapidly.
-With large charges, there exists a positive advantage for the grains to
-be rather large, so that the most distant parts of the charge should be
-reached by the gases as quickly as possible; whilst with that of a
-rifle, the charge being small, the fineness of the grain does not
-interfere with the quantity of the gas developed. Whence it may
-rationally be concluded that the dimensions of the grains should
-increase in proportion to the quantity of the charges into which they
-are to enter, that is to say, in proportion to the interstices. Ramming
-down a charge tightly must therefore interfere with the velocity of
-combustion.
-
-  NOTE--The foregoing on the explosive force of gunpowder was taken from
-  Lieut-Colonel E. M. Boxer’s Treatise on Artillery.
-
-
-FOULING.
-
-  ~Produce of decomposed gunpowder.~
-
-The produce obtained by the decomposition of gunpowder are the gaseous
-and the solid. The gaseous is chiefly nitrogen and carbonic acid. The
-solid is sulphur and potassium, mixed with a little charcoal, but the
-solid produce is nearly entirely volatilized at the moment of explosion
-through the high temperature.
-
-  ~Fouling.~
-
-Fouling is occasioned by the deposition inside the barrel of the solid
-residue proceeding from the combustion of the powder.
-
-  ~Conditions of fouling depend on state of atmosphere~
-
-One of the principal of these, namely, the sulphide of Potassa, is
-deliquescent, or attracts water from the atmosphere. Hence, on a clear
-day, when the air holds little moisture, the fouling does not attain
-that semi-fluid state it so speedily attains in a damp day, and it is
-not so easily removed, and tends to accumulate inside the barrel.
-Fouling may also be increased or diminished, according to the quality of
-the powder.
-
-  ~Effects of Fouling.~
-
-Fouling occasions loss of power from the increased friction, and causes
-inaccuracy in direction and elevation, by filling the grooves, and thus
-preventing the proper spiral motion being imparted to the projectile.
-
-
-EFFECTS OF GUNPOWDER ON METALS.
-
-  ~Difference of effect on brass and iron guns.~
-
-The effect produced by Gunpowder on metals, in long continued and rapid
-firing, is very extraordinary. Several of the guns employed at the siege
-of San Sebastian were cut open, and the interior of some of the vent
-holes, which were originally cylindrical, and only two-tenths of an inch
-in diameter, were enlarged in a curious and irregular manner, from three
-to five inches in one direction, and from two to three inches in
-another, but the brass guns were much more affected than the iron. In
-December, 1855, there were lying in the arsenal at Woolwich several of
-the heaviest sea mortars, which had recently been used at the
-bombardment of Sweaborg, and the continuous firing on that occasion had
-split them into two nearly equal portions from muzzle to breech, a
-trunnion being with each half.
-
-Heavy guns for garrisons, sieges, &c., are made of cast iron; guns for
-field purposes, where lightness is required, are made of gun metal.
-
-
-  ~Difference of effect of brass and iron guns~
-
-These guns are generally denominated brass guns. They can be loaded,
-properly pointed at an object, and fired about four times in three
-minutes, but they will not stand long continued rapid firing, or more
-than 120 rounds a day, as the metal, when heated, softens, and the shot
-then injures the bore. Heavy iron guns may be loaded, fired, &c., once
-in two minutes. They suffer more from the total number of rounds that
-have been fired from them, without reference to the intervals between
-each round, than from the rapidity of the firing. Four hundred and five
-hundred rounds per day have not rendered an iron gun unserviceable.
-
-
-MISCELLANEOUS EXPERIMENTS.
-
-The following experiments, extracted from Mr. Wilkinson’s “Engines of
-War,” serve to illustrate the capability of metals to resist the force
-of gunpowder, and may be of some practical utility, as well as prove
-interesting merely as matter of curiosity.
-
-Experiment 1.--A piece about 5 inches long was cut off the breech-end of
-a common musket barrel. It was screwed at the part cut, and another plug
-fitted, so as to have two plugs, one at each end, leaving an internal
-space of about 3 inches. A percussion nipple was screwed into the end of
-one of these plugs. This being arranged, one of the plugs was turned
-out, and one drachm of gunpowder introduced. The plug was replaced, and
-the powder fired by putting a copper cap on the nipple, and striking it
-with a hammer. The whole force of the powder escaped at the hole in the
-nipple. Two, three, four, five, and six drachms were successively
-introduced, and fired in the same manner, without bursting or injuring
-the piece of barrel. At last, seven drachms forced out one end, in
-consequence of the screw having been carelessly fitted. This defect
-being repaired, Mr. Marsh, of Woolwich, repeatedly fired it with five
-drachms, merely holding it with a towel in his left hand, and firing it
-with a blow of a hammer. Six drachms of powder is the full service
-charge for a flint musket, and four drachms of a percussion musket; yet
-this immense pressure can be resisted by a cylinder of iron not more
-than one quarter of an inch thick, and not iron of the best quality.
-
-Experiment 2.--A good musket barrel had a cylinder of brass, three
-inches long, turned to fit the muzzle, and soldered in, so as to close
-it air-tight. The plug, or breech-screw, was removed, and a felt wad was
-pushed in with a short piece of wood, marked to the exact depth the
-charge would occupy, to prevent the ball rolling forward. A musket ball
-was then dropped in, and a cartridge, containing three drachms of
-powder, was introduced. The breech being screwed in, left the barrel
-loaded. It was fired by a percussion tube, but there was no report. On
-removing the breech-screw, the ball was found to be flattened. A
-repetition of this experiment, with four drachms, produced a similar
-result, but the ball was rather more flattened. With five drachms, the
-ball was perfectly round and uninjured. Six drachms burst the barrel
-close under the bayonet stud; the ball escaped through the opening,
-disfigured, but fell close to the barrel. In these experiments the
-barrel always advanced, instead of recoiling, as usual.
-
-Experiment 3.--Made at Woolwich Arsenal, with a Gomer mortar, the
-chamber being bored conically, so that the shell, when dropped in, fits
-closely all round, instead of being bored cylindrically, with a chamber
-in the centre. The mortar being laid at an angle of 45°, one drachm of
-powder was put into the bottom, and a 68-pounder iron shot over it. When
-fired, the ball was projected two feet clear of the mortar. A wooden
-ball, precisely the same diameter, but weighing only 5lbs., was scarcely
-moved by the same charge, and with two drachms of powder it was just
-lifted in the mortar, and fell into its place again. Here we find a
-weight of 68lbs. thrown to the distance of two feet by the same power
-which would not lift 5lbs., and the wooden ball scarcely moved by double
-the powder.
-
-This proves that the firing of gunpowder under such circumstances is not
-instantaneous. In the first instance, the small quantity of powder had a
-large space to fill below the ball, and a heavy weight to move;
-therefore, could not stir it at all until the whole was ignited, when
-the force was sufficient to throw it forward two feet. In the second
-case, the first portion of gas that was generated by ignition of the
-powder, was sufficient to lift the lighter weight, just enough to allow
-all the force to escape round it before it had time to accumulate.
-
-Experiment 4.--A cannon ball, weighing 24lbs., was placed exactly over
-the vent-hole of a loaded 32-pounder cannon, which was fired by a train
-of gunpowder, when the rush from the vent projected the 24-pounder ball
-to a very considerable height in the air, although the diameter of the
-hole was only two-tenths of an inch.
-
-Experiment 5.--A most ingenious method of ascertaining the relative
-quickness of ignition of different qualities of gunpowder.
-
-A gun-barrel mounted on a carriage with wheels, and moving on a
-perfectly horizontal railway, is placed at right angles to another short
-railway, at any convenient distance (suppose fifty feet, or yards); on
-the second railway a light carriage moves freely with any desired
-velocity, being drawn forward by means of a weight and pulleys: a cord
-is attached to the front of this carriage, which passes over a pulley at
-the end of the railroad, and is continued up a high pole or staff over
-another pulley at the top, at which end the weight is attached. A long
-rectangular frame covered with paper is fixed perpendicularly on the
-carriage, so that when it moves forward it passes across the direct line
-of the barrel, and forms a long target. A percussion lock is attached to
-the barrel, which is fired by a detent, or hair-trigger, and the wire
-which pulls it is disengaged at the same instant to admit of recoil.
-This wire is carried straight on to the target railroad, and fixed to a
-small lever, against which the front part of the target-carriage strikes
-as it is carried onwards by the weight. This constitutes the whole
-apparatus. When required to be used, the barrel is loaded with gunpowder
-accurately weighed, and a brass ball that fits the bore correctly: the
-weight is then disengaged, and the target moves quickly along,
-discharging the barrel as it passes, and the ball goes through it. With
-the same powder tried at the same time, the ball constantly goes through
-the same hole, or breaks into it. If the next powder tried be slower of
-ignition than the preceding, the ball will pass through another part of
-the target more in the rear; if quicker, more in advance; thus affording
-a means of ascertaining this important quality of gunpowder with
-considerable accuracy: the velocity of the target-carriage can be easily
-regulated by increasing or diminishing the weight which draws it
-forward. The differences in the distances between which the balls strike
-the target with different kinds of powder was frequently as much as ten
-or twelve inches; but it is not an apparatus commonly used, having been
-merely constructed for experimental purposes.
-
-
-ON THE TIME REQUIRED FOR IGNITION OF GUNPOWDER.
-
-Gunpowder like all other inflammable substances requires to be raised to
-a certain temperature, before it will ignite, viz., to a dull red heat,
-or about 600° Fahrenheit. If the heat passes with such rapidity through
-the powder, so as not to raise the temperature to the necessary degree,
-then the powder will not ignite, from the velocity of transit, so that
-it might be possible to calculate theoretically, the velocity that must
-be given to a red hot ball to enable it to pass through a barrel of
-gunpowder without causing explosion. The passage of electric fluid
-through gunpowder may be adduced in evidence of the ignition being
-dependent on the degree of velocity. The flame of all fulminating
-powders will pass through the centre of a box filled with gunpowder
-without igniting one grain of it. If a train of gunpowder be crossed at
-right angles by a train of fulminating mercury, laid on a sheet of paper
-or a table, and the powder be lighted with a red hot iron wire, the
-flame will run on until it meets the cross train of fulminating mercury,
-when the inflammation of the latter will be so instantaneous as to cut
-off all connection with the continuous train of powder, leaving the
-remaining portion of the gunpowder unignited. If on the contrary the
-fulminating powder be lighted first, it will go straight on and pass
-through the train of gunpowder so rapidly, as not to inflame it at all.
-Were a gun to be charged with gun-cotton and gunpowder, the latter would
-be fired out unignited.
-
-
-EFFECTS OF ACCIDENTAL EXPLOSIONS OF GUNPOWDER.
-
-Considering the combustible nature of the materials, accidents very
-seldom occur; when they do, it is more frequently in the process at the
-Mill while under the runners.
-
-On one occasion at Waltham Abbey Mills, when the powder exploded, after
-having been two hours under the runners, the doors and windows of the
-Mills on the opposite side of the stream, were forced open outwards, and
-the nails drawn. A similar effect took place when the Dartford Mills
-blew up, January 1833, in consequence of an accident in the packing
-house. A window which had been recently fitted up in Dartford Town,
-about a mile and a half distant from the works, was blown outwards into
-the street, and a considerable quantity of paper was carried as far as
-Eltham and Lewisham, distances of eight and ten miles. The sudden
-rarification of the air may account for this circumstance, the
-atmospheric pressure being removed in the vicinity of the doors and
-windows, they were forced open outwards by the expansive force of the
-air contained within the buildings.
-
-
-
-
-ON ANCIENT ENGINES OF WAR.
-
-
-  ~War a painful topic.~
-
-  ~Advantages of war being destructive.~
-
-The Utopian may shrink from the contemplation of so painful a subject as
-War, the Moralist may raise his voice against the justice of it, but the
-practical philosopher can see very little chance of its cessation, and
-actuated with the very best intentions, will endeavour to render War as
-terrible as possible, well knowing, that as soon as certain death awaits
-two rival armies, princes must fight their own battles, or war must
-cease.
-
-  ~First missile weapons, sticks and stones.~
-
-  ~Javelin.~
-
-  ~Sling.~
-
-  ~Bow.~
-
-  ~Arbalest.~
-
-Man’s first rude attempts at missile weapons were doubtless limited to
-throwing sticks and stones by the mere aid of his hands; acts in which
-the monkey, the bear, and even the seal are very successful emulators. A
-desire of more successful aggression, together with increased facilities
-for the destruction of game and wild animals, doubtless soon suggested
-to man the use of projectiles more efficient than these. By a very
-slight change of form, the simple stick would become a javelin, capable
-of being hurled with great force and precision. An aid would suggest
-itself for casting a stone, by means of a fillet or band, subsequently
-called a sling, and next would be invented the bow, which, in process of
-time by subsequent additions would become the arbalest or cross-bow.
-
-  ~Axes used as projectiles.~
-
-It appears that axes have been used as _projectiles_: for Procopius,
-describing the expedition of the Franks into Italy, in the sixth
-century, tells us:--Among the hundred thousand men that King Theodobert
-I. led into Italy, there were but few horsemen. The cavalry carried
-spears. The infantry had neither bow nor spear, all their arms being a
-sword, an axe, and a shield. The blade of the axe was large, its handle
-of wood, and very short. They _hurl_ their axes against the shields of
-the enemy, which by this means are broken; and then, springing on the
-foe, they complete his destruction with the sword.
-
-  ~Tomahawk used as a projectile.~
-
-A hatchet or tomahawk is used as a projectile weapon by the North
-American Indians. The difficulty of throwing such a weapon with effect,
-would of course consist in causing the edge to strike the object aimed
-at. Now, such a hatchet as they usually make use of, if thrown by its
-handle, will revolve in a perpendicular plane about once in every three
-yards, irrespective of the force with which it moves. An Indian judges
-his enemy to be distant from him any multiple of 3 yards as 15, 18, 21,
-and strikes him full with the edge of his weapon accordingly.
-
-  ~“Chuckur” or disk used as a projectile.~
-
-A circular disk or quoit is in use in India amongst the Sikhs,
-particularly that sect of them called Akali, as a weapon, and in their
-warlike exercises; the species used in war have a triangular section,
-those thrown for amusement are flat with a sharp edge. A skilful man
-will throw one of these chuckers or quoits to a distance of a hundred
-and thirty yards, or more, with very considerable accuracy, the quoit
-being at no period of its flight above six feet from the ground. The
-sharpness of edge, combined with the rotatory motion of these quoits,
-and the difficulty of avoiding them, renders them formidable weapons in
-skilled hands. The Akali wear them on their turbans, of several
-different sizes and weights; a small one is often worn as a bracelet on
-the arm. Many of these fanatics took part in the last Sikh war, and
-severe wounds made with these weapons were by no means uncommon.
-
-  ~Armour and fortifications.~
-
-By the time portable weapons would have been brought to some degree of
-perfection, man’s increasing sciences and civilization would have led
-him to make armour, to build cities, and enclose them with walls. Now
-would arise the necessity for other projectiles of greater force,
-inasmuch as in the event of war, the armour should be penetrated, and
-walls, &c., would have to be demolished.
-
-  ~Improved projectiles.~
-
-  ~Change to heavy projectiles.~
-
-  ~Catapulta.~
-
-  ~Balistæ.~
-
-  ~Sling principles.~
-
-The transition from portable projectiles to those of a heavier class was
-obvious enough. Enormous javelins and darts were hurled by cross-bows of
-corresponding size, termed Catapultæ, (plate x.), and stones, &c., were
-thrown by Balistæ (plate ix. and xii); and secondly, instruments formed
-on the principle of the sling.
-
-  ~Projectiles used with Catapulta.~
-
-These machines threw not only large darts and stones, but also the
-bodies of men and horses. Athenæus speaks of a Catapulta which was only
-one foot long, and threw an arrow to the distance of half a mile. Other
-engines, it is said, could throw javelins from one side of the Danube to
-the other. Balistæ threw great beams of wood, lances twelve cubits long,
-and stones that weighed three hundred pounds.
-
-  ~Millstones, &c., used in England.~
-
-Our forefathers used to cast forth mill-stones. Holinshead relates that
-when Edward I. besieged Stively Castle, he caused certain engines to be
-made, which shot off stones of two or three hundred weight.
-
-  ~B. C. 1451.~
-
-  ~B. C. 809.~
-
-  ~First mention of Artillery.~
-
-The first intimation of trees being cut down “to build bulwarks against
-the city till it be subdued,” occurs in Deut. xx., 19, 20, but the
-earliest precise mention of Artillery is in 2nd Chron., xxvi, 15, where
-we are told that Uzziah “made in Jerusalem engines invented by cunning
-men, to be upon the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and
-great stones withal;” and Josephus relates that Uzziah “made many
-engines of war for besieging cities, such as hurl stones and darts with
-grapplers, and other instruments of that sort.” He must therefore be
-considered the inventor of them, and from that time they began to be
-employed in attacking and defending towns.
-
-  ~Balistæ at Regium, B. C. 388.~
-
-  ~At Motya B. C. 370.~
-
-The earliest instances of projectile machines in profane history appear
-to be at the siege of Regium and Motya by Dionysius, where, having
-battered the walls with his rams, he advanced towards them towers rolled
-on wheels, from whence he galled the besieged with continual volleys of
-stones and arrows, thrown from his Balistæ and Catapultæ.
-
-  ~At Rhodes B. C. 303.~
-
-The next memorable instance is the siege of Rhodes by Demetrius
-Polyorcetes, who brought forward a newly invented machine, called
-Helepolis, (taker of Cities), with a variety of other engines, and
-employed 30,000 men in the management of them.
-
-  ~Balistæ at Cremona.~
-
-Tacitus mentions an extraordinary engine, used by the 15th Legion at the
-battle of Cremona, against the troops of Vespasian. It was a Balista of
-enormous size, which discharged stones of weight sufficient to crush
-whole ranks at once. Inevitable ruin would have been the consequence,
-had not two soldiers, undiscovered, cut the ropes and springs. At
-length, after a vigorous assault from Antonius, the Vittelians, unable
-to resist the shock, rolled down the engine, and crushed numbers of
-their assailants, but the machine, in falling, drew after it a
-neighbouring tower, the parapet, and part of the wall, which afforded
-the besiegers easier access to the city.
-
-  ~Balistæ at siege of Jotapata.~
-
-  ~Dead men and horses projected.~
-
-Josephus relates that at the siege of Jotapata, “a stone from one of the
-Roman engines carried the head of a soldier, who was standing by him,
-three furlongs off;” that “lances were thrown with great noise, and
-stones, weighing 114lbs. troy, “together with fire and a multitude of
-arrows.” The dead bodies of men and horses were also thrown at this
-siege, and at that of Jerusalem, A. D. 70, to inspire terror.
-
-  ~Form of Balistæ.~
-
-The earliest form of Balistæ appears to have been a very long beam,
-suspended in a frame on a centre of motion, one end being considerably
-longer than the other. To the short end was attached a great weight,
-such as a chest filled with earth or stones. To the longer end a sling
-was affixed, in which, after being drawn down, a stone was placed, and
-on being suddenly let go, the long end flew up, and discharged the stone
-with great violence.
-
-  ~Form of Catapultæ.~
-
-Catapultæ were sometimes constructed to discharge a flight of arrows at
-once, by placing them on a rack, and causing a strong plank, previously
-drawn back, to strike against their ends. The more perfect engines of
-the Romans were all dependent on the elasticity of twisted cords made of
-flax, hemp, the sinews or tendons of animals, from the neck of the bull,
-or legs of the deer species, and ropes formed of human hair were
-preferred to all others, as possessing greater strength and elasticity.
-Catapultæ were immensely powerful bows, drawn back by capstans, levers,
-or pulleys, having only a single cord for the arrow, (plate x.), but the
-Balistæ had a broad band, formed of several ropes to project the stone,
-which was placed in a kind of cradle, like a cross-bow. (plate xii.)
-
-  ~Balistæ at battle of Hastings 1066~
-
-The Normans appear to have introduced a kind of Field-Artillery,
-consisting of instruments or machines, from which darts and stones were
-thrown to a considerable distance, as they occur at the battle of
-Hastings. They also employed arrows, headed with combustible matter, for
-firing towns and shipping.
-
-  ~Fiery darts, A. D. 64.~
-
-We read in the Scriptures of “Fiery Darts.” Ephns. vi., 16.
-
-  ~Fire from Balistæ.~
-
-Our ancestors derived the knowledge of some composition from the
-Saracens, which resembled Greek-fire, and was often thrown in pots from
-the Balistæ.
-
-  ~Fire by Arabs commencement of 13th century.~
-
-From a treatise on the “Art of Fighting,” by Hassan Abrammah, we learn
-that the Arabs of the 13th century employed their incendiary
-compositions in four different ways. They cast them by hand; they fixed
-them to staves, with which they attacked their enemies; they poured
-forth fire through tubes; and they projected burning mixtures of various
-kinds by means of arrows, javelins, and the missiles of great engines.
-
-  ~Bombs of glass, &c.~
-
-  ~Fire-mace.~
-
-Vessels of glass or pottery, discharged by hand or by machines, were so
-contrived, that on striking the object at which they were aimed, their
-contents spread around, and the fire, already communicated by a fusee,
-enveloped everything within its reach. A soldier, on whose head was
-broken a fire-mace, became suddenly soaked with a diabolic fluid, which
-covered him from head to foot with flame.
-
-  ~Bombs from Balistæ.~
-
-Bombs were also thrown from Balistæ. An engine was constructed at
-Gibraltar, under the direction of General Melville, at the desire of
-Lord Heathfield, for the purpose of throwing stones just over the edge
-of the rock, in a place where the Spaniards used to resort, and where
-shells thrown from mortars could not injure or annoy them.
-
-  ~Onager.~
-
-Of machines formed on the sling principle, that called Onager (plates
-vii. and viii.) may be regarded as typical of all the rest. Its force
-entirely depended upon the torsion of a short thick rope, acting upon a
-lever which described an arc of a vertical circle. The lever had
-attached to its free extremity a sling, or sometimes it merely
-terminated in a spoon-shaped cavity. When bent back, it was secured by a
-catch or trigger, and charged with a stone. On starting the catch by a
-blow with a mallet, the lever described its arc of a circle with great
-velocity, and projected the stone to a considerable distance.
-
-I shall now briefly describe some of the portable missive weapons which
-have been used by different nations.
-
-  ~Javelin.~
-
-  ~Arms of the early Romans.~
-
-  ~Aid to projection.~
-
-The Javelin, or dart, variously modified, is known under several names.
-The ancients were well acquainted with it. In the Scriptures, we have
-frequent notice of it; and the ancients instituted javelin matches. It
-would appear that the javelin used on horseback was about five feet and
-a half long, and headed with steel, usually three-sided, but sometimes
-round. The Roman Cavalry, after the conquest of Greece, were armed much
-like the Infantry, carrying swords, shields, and javelins with points at
-both ends. Sometimes, in order to launch it with greater force, it was
-not propelled by the unaided arm, but by the assistance of a thong
-fastened to its butt end; and we are informed that the Greeks and Romans
-projected darts and javelins by the assistance of a sling or strap, girt
-round their middle.
-
-  ~Djereed.~
-
-  ~Pilum.~
-
-  ~Australian mode.~
-
-  ~Harpoon.~
-
-At the present time, a javelin, termed Djereed, is used with
-considerable effect by certain oriental nations, who invariably employ
-it on horseback. The Roman infantry possessed a weapon of the javelin
-kind, termed Pilum, every man of the legionary soldiers carrying two.
-The point of this weapon being very long and small, was usually so bent
-at the first discharge as to be rendered useless afterwards. With every
-improvement that the javelin was susceptible of, it never could acquire
-a long range; hence we find, that as Archery became developed, the use
-of the weapon declined. Amongst savage nations, the use of the javelin
-is very common, but the inhabitants of Australia have a manner of
-throwing it altogether peculiar to themselves, not throwing it while
-poised at the balance, but projecting it by means of a stick applied at
-the butt end. This contrivance accomplishes a great increase of range,
-but does not contribute to accuracy of direction. At short distances,
-the penetrating force of the javelin is considerable, as is learned from
-the act of harpooning a whale, a harpoon being merely a javelin.
-
-
-THE SLING.
-
-  ~Slings mentioned in Judges. B. C. 1406.~
-
-  ~Slings used B. C. 1406.~
-
-Means by which stones would be thrown by greater force than the hand,
-would naturally be resorted to; accordingly we find the sling ranks
-amongst the first of ancient offensive weapons. Numerous examples are
-mentioned in Scripture, as in Judges xx., 16, “Among all this people,
-there were seven hundred chosen men left-handed; every one could sling
-stones at a hair breadth and not miss;” and also that of David and
-Goliath, &c.
-
-  ~Siege of Troy between 800 and 900 B. C.~
-
-  ~Battle of the Granicus B. C. 334.~
-
-  ~First Punic war 241 to 263 B. C.~
-
-At the siege of Troy, the masses were organized into two kinds of
-infantry: one light and irregular, carrying horn bows, short darts, and
-slings; the other regular and heavy, armed with spears. At the battle of
-the Granicus, B. C. 334, Alexander the Great had in his army light
-infantry, consisting of slingers, bow-men, and javelin-men. The
-Carthagenians had slingers in their pay before the first Punic War.
-
-  ~Slings common in Greece.~
-
-  ~Slingers in Roman armies.~
-
-The Sling was very common in Greece, and used by the light armed
-soldiers. Arrows, stones, and leaden plummets, were thrown from them,
-some of which weighed no less than an Attic pound. Seneca reports that
-its motion was so vehement that the leaden plummets were frequently
-melted!!! The Romans had slingers in their armies, for the most part
-inhabitants of the Islands of Majorca, Minorca and Ivica.
-
-  ~Invention ascribed to Phœnicians and also to inhabitants of Balearic
-  islands.~
-
-Pliny ascribes the invention of slings to the Phœnicians, but Vegetius
-to the inhabitants of the Balearic Islands, who were famous in antiquity
-for using them. It is said, those people bore three kinds of slings,
-some longer and others shorter, to be used as their enemies were nearer
-or more remote; the first served them for a head band, the second for a
-girdle, and the third they always carried in their hands. In fight they
-threw large stones with such violence, that they seemed to be projected
-from some machine, and with such exactness, as rarely to miss their aim;
-being constantly exercised from their infancy, their mothers not
-allowing them to have any food, until they struck it down from the top
-of a pole with stones thrown from their slings.
-
-  ~Materials of slings.~
-
-  ~Slings with cup.~
-
-  ~Staff-sling.~
-
-The Latin for our English word farm is _fundus_, which originally
-signifies a “stone’s-throw of land,” or as much land as could be
-included within the range of a stone thrown from a sling. The materials
-of which slings were composed, were either flax, hair or leather, woven
-into bands or cut into thongs, broad in the centre to receive the load,
-and tapering off to the extremities. Slings have been made with three
-strings, with a cup let into the leather to hold the bullet or stone,
-and were called “Fronde à culôt.” In plate xiii, fig. 3, there is a
-representation of a slinger of the early part of the thirteenth century,
-whose weapon differs from that of the Anglo-Saxon or common sling, in
-having a cup for the reception of the projectile. Slings were sometimes
-attached to sticks to increase their power, as, besides the ancient cord
-sling, there appears in the manuscripts of the thirteenth century a
-variety of this arm; the “Staff Sling.” (plate xiii, fig. 2.) It seems
-to have been in vogue for naval warfare, or in the conflicts of siege
-operations.
-
-  ~Force of slings.~
-
-  ~Used for the English, A. D. 1342.~
-
-  ~Bullets out of slings.~
-
-The slings projected their missiles with such force that no armour could
-resist their stroke. Slings never appear to have been much used by the
-English, although Froissart mentions an instance of their having been
-used for them by the people of Brittany, in a battle fought in that
-province during the reign of Philip de Valois, between the troops of
-Walter de Manin, an English knight, and Louis d’Espagne, who commanded
-six thousand men on behalf of Charles de Blois, then competitor with the
-Earl of Montford for the Duchy of Brittany. Froissart says, that what
-made Louis lose the battle was, that during the engagement the country
-people came unexpectedly and assaulted his army with _bullets_ and
-slings.
-
-  ~Slings at the siege of Sancere, 1572.~
-
-  ~Range.~
-
-  ~Slings last used, 1814.~
-
-According to the same author, slings were used in naval combats, when
-stones were also sometimes thrown by hand.[2] Slings were used in 1572,
-at the siege of Sancere by the Huguenots, in order to save their powder.
-They were also used by the people of Brittany to such an extent against
-the Roman Catholic party, that the war was called “Guerre de Fronde.”
-With respect to the range of this projectile, it is said, that a good
-slinger could project a stone 600 yards. This seems doubtful. The most
-recent instance of slings being used in war, occurs in “Straith on
-Fortification,” page 121, and which contains an extract from the siege
-journal of Serjeant St. Jacques of the French Corps de Genie, who was
-most successfully employed with a small French garrison in the defence
-of the Castles of Monzowin, Arragon, against the Spaniards, 1814.
-
-  [2] It is stated by Sir Robert Wilson that at the battle of Alexandria
-  the French and English threw stones at each other, during a temporary
-  want of ammunition, with such effect that a Serjeant of the 28th
-  Regiment was killed, and several of the men were wounded. Stones were
-  thrown by the English Guards at the battle of Inkerman.
-
-
-THE BOW.
-
-  ~The bow almost universal.~
-
-This weapon under some shape or other was employed by most nations of
-antiquity, but not always as a warlike instrument. Scarcely any two
-nations made their bows exactly alike. The Scythian bow we are told, was
-very much curved, as are the Turkish, Persian, and Chinese bows (plate
-iv. figs. 1 & 2) at the present day, whilst the celebrated weapon of our
-ancestors when unstrung was nearly straight.
-
-It is now used among those savage tribes of Africa and America, to which
-fire-arms have not yet reached.
-
-  ~Bows in Scripture.~
-
-  ~Bows B. C. 1892.~
-
-  ~B. C. 1760.~
-
-  ~B. C. 1058.~
-
-  ~Manner of drawing the bow.~
-
-  ~First used by Romans.~
-
-We frequently read of the bow in Scripture, and the first passage in
-which the use of the bow is inferred, is in Gen. xxi. 20, where it is
-said of Ishmael, “And God was with the lad, and he grew, and dwelt in
-the wilderness and became an archer.” But in the 16th verse it is said
-that Hagar his mother, “sat her down over against him, a good way off,
-as it were a _bow shot_; for she said let me not see the death of the
-child”:--this verse implies an earlier practice with the bow than can be
-adduced by any profane historian. In Gen. xxvii. 3, Isaac directs his
-son Esau: “Now therefore take I pray thee thy weapons, thy quiver and
-thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison; and make me
-savory meat, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, and that
-my soul may bless thee before I die.” The overthrow of Saul was
-particularly owing to the Philistine archers; and “David bade them
-teach the children of Judah the use of the bow.” The companies that came
-to David at Ziklag were armed with bows, and “could use the right hand
-and the left in hurling stones and shooting arrows.” (I. Chron. xii. 2.)
-The bow is of very high antiquity among the Greeks, whose bows were
-usually made of wood, but sometimes of horn, and frequently in either
-case beautifully ornamented with gold and silver; the string generally
-made of twisted hair, but sometimes of hide. The ancient Persians drew
-the strings towards their ears, as is the practice still with the
-English. The ancient Greeks, however, drew the bowstring towards their
-breast, and represented the fabled Amazons as doing the same, and hence
-the tradition of these people cutting off their right breasts, in order
-to give facility for drawing the bow. Until the second Punic war, the
-Romans had no archers in their armies, except those who came with their
-auxiliary forces. Subsequently they became more employed, although as
-far as we can learn, not by native troops, but by Orientals in their
-pay.
-
-  ~Bows of Britons.~
-
-  ~Bows of Welsh.~
-
-  ~Bows of Anglo-Saxons.~
-
-The early Britons had merely bows and arrows of reed, with flint or bone
-heads. Arrows were used by the Welch in Norman reigns, who were famous
-archers; their bows were made of wild elm, but stout, and not calculated
-to shoot a great distance, but their arrows would inflict very severe
-wounds in close fight. Their arrows would pierce oaken boards four
-inches thick. The bow was also a weapon of war among the Anglo-Saxons.
-The Salic law shows that both the sling and the bow were used by the
-contemporary Franks; and they even used poisoned arrows. The Anglo-Saxon
-bow was of the form of the Grecian, but it was only under the Normans
-that the bow became a master weapon; the Saxons principally using it,
-like the people of Tahiti of the present day, for killing birds.
-
-  ~No bows in France A. D. 514.~
-
-During the reign of Clovis, the French made no use of the bow in their
-armies, but it was employed during the reign of Charlemagne, who
-flourished in the end of the eighth century; as a Count is mentioned,
-who was directed on conducting soldiers to the army, to see they had
-their proper arms; that is a lance, a buckler, a bow, two strings, and
-twelve arrows.
-
-  ~A. D. 1066. Harold shot with an arrow~
-
-  ~Known by Danes and Saxons.~
-
-  ~As a military weapon at the battle of Hastings.~
-
-  ~Archery encouraged by statute.~
-
-  ~Long bow in conquest of Ireland 1172.~
-
-William the Conqueror was a skilful archer, and the battle of Hastings
-was decided by the bow, and we hear that Harold was shot with an arrow.
-Although the Anglo-Saxons and Danes were well acquainted with the bow
-from the earliest period, it appears to have been only employed for
-obtaining food, or for pastime, and we are perhaps indebted to the
-Norman Conquest for its introduction as a military weapon. The Normans
-at the battle of Hastings are said to have used the arbalest or
-cross-bow as well as the long bow. Ever after this, the bow became a
-favourite weapon. During the reign of Henry II., archery was much
-cultivated, and great numbers of bowmen were constantly brought into the
-field; and to encourage its practice, a law was passed, which freed from
-the charge of murder any one who in practising with arrows or darts,
-should kill a person standing near. This appears to be the first
-regulation to be found in our annals, and was probably founded on the
-old law of Rome. The English conquests in Ireland during the reign of
-Henry II. were principally owing to the use of the long bow in battle,
-which the Irish wanted. The Invasion of Ireland was headed by Richard de
-Clare, Earl of Pembroke, surnamed “Strong-bow.” His force was
-numerically very small, consisting chiefly of archers, and it is stated
-that such was the advantage their superior arms and military skill gave
-the invaders, that 10 knights and 70 archers defeated a body of 3000
-Irish opposed to them, on their landing near Waterford.
-
-  ~A. D. 1199.~
-
-The exact time when shooting with the long-bow began in England is
-unsettled, our chroniclers do not mention archery till the death of
-Richard I.
-
-During the reign of Henry III. there were among the English infantry,
-slingers, archers, and cross-bow men.
-
-  ~Cressy 1346.~
-
-  ~Poictiers 1356.~
-
-It seems that the long-bow was at its zenith in the reign of Edward
-III., who appears to have taken great pains to increase its efficacy,
-and to extend its use. The terrible execution effected by the English
-archers at Cressy, and at Poictiers ten years after, was occasioned by
-British archers.
-
-  ~Homelden 1403.~
-
-The decisive victory over the Scots at Homelden was entirely achieved by
-them, and the Earl of Douglas found the English arrows were so swift and
-strong, that no armour could repel them; though his own was of the most
-perfect temper, he was wounded in five places. The English men-at-arms,
-knights and squires, never drew sword or couched lance, the whole affair
-being decided by the archers.
-
-  ~Shrewsbury 1403.~
-
-  ~Agincourt 1415.~
-
-They again did terrible execution at the battle of Shrewsbury, in 1403,
-where Hotspur was slain, and the battle of Agincourt was their undivided
-conquest.
-
-  ~20,000 bow-men 1455.~
-
-  ~Bow preferred to fire-arms.~
-
-  ~Bows at Isle of Ré, 1627.~
-
-  ~Bows against Scots, 1644 to 1647.~
-
-  ~Bows in William 3rd’s time.~
-
-During the reign of Henry VI., the Parliament voted an army of 20,000
-bow-men for service in France. The battle of St. Albans, 1455, seems to
-have been entirely won by the archers. Although fire-arms had attained
-no inconsiderable degree of perfection in the reign of Henry VIII., yet
-the long-bow was still the favourite weapon. Indeed, in the reign of
-Elizabeth, the musket was so unwieldy, and slow to charge and discharge,
-that the bow was considered superior by many. We find that Queen
-Elizabeth, 1572, engaged to furnish Charles IX. of France with 6,000
-men, part to be armed with long, and part with cross-bows; and in the
-attack made by the English on the Isle of Ré, 1627, it is said some
-cross-bow-men were in the army. In 1643 a company of archers was raised
-for the service of Charles I.; and in a pamphlet printed in 1664, there
-is an account of the successes of the Marquis of Montrose against the
-Scots; and bow-men are repeatedly mentioned as in the battle. The
-Grenadiers of the Highland Regiments, in the time of William III., when
-recruiting, wore the old red bonnet, and carried bows and arrows with
-them.
-
-The Highland bow was very short, and by no means powerful.
-
-
-MERITS OF THE LONG BOW.
-
-  ~Range of long-bow.~
-
-  ~Accuracy of long-bow.~
-
-The English could not accomplish more than 600 yards, except on a few
-extraordinary occasions; our modern archers not more than from 300 to
-500 yards. The Turkish ambassador when in England in 1795, sent an arrow
-upwards of 480 yards; and there are two or three instances on record
-since archery has been merely a pastime, which have exceeded it by
-twenty or thirty yards. It is said of Domitian, that he would cause one
-of his slaves to stand at a great distance with his hands spread as a
-mark, and would shoot his arrows so correctly as to drive them between
-his fingers. Commodus, with an arrow headed with a semi-circular cutting
-edge, could cut or sever the neck of a bird. The story of William Tell,
-who struck an apple placed upon his child’s head, is well known, and
-generally regarded in the light of an historical fact. It is stated that
-Robin Hood could split a hazel wand.
-
-  ~Penetration of long-bow.~
-
-In a journal of Edward VI., His Majesty relates that 100 archers of his
-guard shot before him two arrows each, and afterwards altogether. The
-object aimed at was a well-seasoned deal board, one inch thick. Many
-pierced it quite through, and some struck in a board on the other side.
-The distance is not mentioned, but we know that Henry VIII. prohibited
-any one above the age of 25 to shoot at a mark at a less distance than
-200 yards.
-
-  ~Advantages of the long-bow.~
-
-The long-bow was light, inexpensive, and unaffected by weather, as the
-strings could be removed. Moreover, 12 arrows could be fired with
-accuracy in one minute. Two feathers in an arrow were to be white, and
-one brown or grey, and this difference in colour informed the archer in
-an instant how to place the arrow.
-
-  ~Disadvantages of the long-bow.~
-
-Although arrows could be shot from a bow with far greater rapidity and
-precision than balls from a musket, yet in damp weather the bow and
-string might become so much relaxed that the efficacy of the instrument
-became much impaired. A side wind deflected the arrow exceedingly in its
-flight, and even against a moderate wind, it was difficult to shoot at
-all.
-
-
-_Our Forefathers encouraged to acquire skill in archery by legal
-enactments, and by the founders of our public schools._
-
-
-1ST. BY LEGAL ENACTMENTS.
-
-  ~Henry 2nd from 1154 to 1189.~
-
-We have previously stated that the first law encouraging the practice of
-archery was passed in the reign of Henry II.
-
-  ~Richard 2nd from 1377 to 1399.~
-
-An Act of Parliament was passed in the reign of Richard II., to compel
-all servants to shoot on Sundays and holidays.
-
-  ~Edward 4th from 1461 to 1483.~
-
-  ~Every man to have a bow.~
-
-In the reign of Edward IV., an act was passed, ordaining every
-Englishman to have a bow of his own height, and during the same reign
-butts were ordered to be put up in every township for the inhabitants to
-shoot at on feast days, and if any neglected, the penalty of one
-halfpenny was incurred. The same monarch also passed an act, that bows
-were to be sold for 5s. 4d.
-
-  ~Cross-bows prohibited by Henry 7th & Henry 8th.~
-
-Henry VII. prohibited the use of the cross-bow, and Henry VIII., less
-than twenty years after, renewed the prohibition. He forbad the use of
-cross-bows and hand guns, and passed a statute which inflicted a fine of
-£10 for keeping a cross-bow in the house. Every man, being the King’s
-subject, was obliged to exercise himself in shooting with the long bow,
-and also to keep a bow with arrows continually in his house. Fathers and
-guardians were also commanded to teach their male children the use of
-the long bow.
-
-  ~Encouraged by Philip and Mary.~
-
-A statute of Philip and Mary mentions the quantity and kind of armour
-and weapons, to be kept by persons of different estates, viz:--“Temporal
-persons having £5 and under £10 per annum, one coat of plate furnished,
-one black bill or halbert, one long bow, one sheaf of arrows, and one
-steel cap or skull.”
-
-  ~Prices fixed by Elizabeth.~
-
-An act of Elizabeth, fixed the prices for long bows, at 6s. 8d., 3s.
-4d., and a third sort at 2s. each bow.
-
-  ~Encouraged by monarchs from Henry 8th to Charles 1st.~
-
-  ~Proclamation by Charles 1st.~
-
-Numerous statutes were passed to encourage archery in the reigns of
-Henry VIII., Elizabeth, James I. and Charles I. in whose reign the
-legislature interfered for the last time in 1633, when Charles I. issued
-a commission for preventing the fields near London being so enclosed,
-“as to interrupt the necessary and profitable exercise of “shooting,”
-and also a proclamation for the use of the bow and pike together:--“A.
-D. 1633.--Whereas in former tyme bowes and arrowes have been found
-serviceable weapons for wars, whereby great victories and conquests have
-been gotten, and by sundry statutes the use thereof hath been enjoined,
-&c. &c.--and we expect that our loving subjects should conform
-themselves thereunto, knowing the exercise of shooting to be a means to
-preserve health, strength and agility of body, and to avoid idleness,
-unlawfull disports, drunkenness, and such like enormities and disorders,
-which are too frequent among our people.”
-
-
-2ND.--BY THE FOUNDERS OF OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
-
-  ~Estimation of archery by founders of schools.~
-
-The founders of our Grammar Schools appear to have considered that the
-acquirement of skill in archery by their scholars was no less worthy of
-attention than their moral and intellectual improvement. They provided
-by their statutes sound learning and a religious education for all, but
-secured the removal of such as shewed no aptitude or disposition to
-learn. They also prescribed the amusements and exercises of the
-scholars, and prohibited such as were calculated to lead to idle and
-vicious habits. In fact, as true patriots, they understood how the sons
-of free men ought to be educated in youth, and that “a complete and
-generous education is that which fits a man to perform justly,
-skilfully, and magnanimously, all the offices, both private and public,
-of peace and war.”
-
-  ~Harrow School, founded 1571.~
-
-The founder of Harrow School, Mr. John Lyon, prepared a body of statutes
-to be observed in the management of the School. By one of these he
-limited the amusements of the Scholars “to driving a top, tossing a
-hand-ball, running, shooting, and no other.” By another he
-ordered:--“You shall allow your child at all times, bow-shafts,
-bow-strings, and a bracer, to exercise shooting.” On the entrance-porch
-to the Master’s house are two shields, the one bearing the Lion rampant,
-the other, two arrows crossed, an ancient device which had its origin in
-the design of the founder. This device is also impressed on the exterior
-of all books which are presented by the Head-Master as prizes to those
-scholars, whose improvement entitled them to such rewards. The practice
-of archery was coeval with the foundation of the School, and was
-continued for nearly two centuries. Every year there was a public
-exhibition of archery, when the scholars shot for a silver arrow. The
-last silver arrow was contended for in 1771.
-
-  ~St. Albans School.~
-
-At St. Alban’s Grammar School, one of the articles to be recited to such
-as offered their children to be taught in the School was,--“Ye shall
-allow your child at all times, a bow, three arrows, bow-strings, a
-shooting glove, and a bracer, to exercise shooting.”
-
-  ~Wilton School.~
-
-Sir John Dean, who founded, in 1558, the Grammar School of Wilton, in
-Cheshire, framed a body of statutes for the School. One of them
-provides:--“That upon Thursdays and Saturdays, in the afternoons, and
-upon holidays, the scholars refresh themselves, and that as well in the
-vacations as in the days aforesaid, they use their bows and arrows only,
-and eschew all bowling, carding, dicing, cocking, and all other unlawful
-games, upon pain of extreme punishment to be done by the Schoolmaster.”
-
-  ~Dedham School in Essex.~
-
-The Free Grammar School of Dedham, in Essex, was endowed in 1571, and
-confirmed by a Charter of Queen Elizabeth in 1574. Her Majesty’s
-injunctions to the parents of the boys who should attend the school at
-Dedham were:--“That they should furnish their sons with bows, shafts,
-bracers and gloves, in order to train them to arms.”
-
-  ~St. Saviour’s School in Southwark.~
-
-One of the statutes at the Grammar School of St. Saviour, in Southwark,
-decrees that “the plays of the scholars shall be shooting in long-bows,
-chess, running, wrestling, and leaping:--players for money, or betters,
-shall be severely punished and expulsed.”
-
-  ~Camberwell School.~
-
-A statute in the same words is found in the rules and orders framed for
-the government of Camberwell Grammar School, which was founded in 1615,
-by letters patent.
-
-
-MEANS BY WHICH SKILL IN ARCHERY WAS ACQUIRED.
-
-  ~An archer made by long training, &c.~
-
-A successful archer could only be constituted by long training,
-strength, and address, we need not therefore wonder that the practice of
-the long-bow was not more copied by our neighbours, as the French
-pertinaciously adhered to the use of the cross-bow.
-
-  ~Every man had arms.~
-
-Etienne di Perlin, a Frenchman who wrote an account of a tour in England
-in 1558, says:--“The husbandmen leave their bucklers and swords, or
-sometimes their bow, in the corner of the field, so that every one in
-this land bears arms;” and it is also stated that all the youth and
-manhood of the yeomanry of England were engaged in the practice of the
-long-bow.
-
-  ~Public matches.~
-
-Public exhibitions of shooting with the bow continued during the reigns
-of Charles II. and James II., and an archer’s division, at least till
-within these few years, formed a branch of the Artillery Company. The
-most important society of this kind now existing is “The Royal Company
-of Archers, the King’s body-guard of Scotland.” The exact time of its
-institution is unknown, but it is referred by the Scottish antiquarians
-to the reign of their James I.
-
-  ~Causes of bad shooting.~
-
-Roger Ascham, in “Toxophilos,” states that the main difficulty in
-learning to shoot, arises from having acquired and become confirmed in
-previous bad habits; so that, “use is the onlye cause of all faultes in
-it, and therefore children more easelye and soner may be taught to
-shoote excellently then men, because children may be taught to shoote
-well at the first, menne have more paine to unlearne their ill uses than
-they have labour afterwarde to come to good shootinge;” and after having
-enumerated a long list of faults ordinarily committed, he thus proceeds
-to describe the secret of shooting straight with the long-bow.
-
-  ~Shooting depends on the eye.~
-
-  ~The hand obeys the eye.~
-
-“For having a man’s eye alwaye on his marke, is the onlye waye to shoote
-straighte, yea, and I suppose so redye and easye a waye, if it be
-learned in youth and confirmed with use, that a man shall never misse
-therein. Men doubt yet in loking at the marke what way is best, whether
-betwixt the bow and the stringe, above or beneath his hande, and manye
-wayes moo. Yet it maketh no greate matter which waye a man loke at his
-marke, if it be joined with comlye shooting. The diversitye of mens
-standing and drawing causeth divers men loke at their marke divers
-wayes; yet they all had a mans hand to shoote straighte if nothinge els
-stoppe. So that cumlynesse is the onlye judge of best lokinge at the
-marke. Some men wonder whye in castinge a man’s eye at the mark, the
-hande should go streight. Surely if he considered the nature of a man’s
-eye, hee woulde not wonder at it. For this I am certaine of, that no
-servaunt to his maister, no child to his father, is so obedient as
-everye joynte and peece of the bodye is to do whatsoever the eye biddes.
-The eye is the guide, the ruler, and the succourer of all the other
-parts. The hande, the foote, and other members dare do nothinge withoute
-the eye, as doth appear on the night and darcke corners. The eye is the
-very tongue wherewith witte and reason doth speake to everye parte of
-the bodye, and the witte doth not so soone signifye a thinge by the eye,
-as every part is redye to followe, or rather prevent the bidding of the
-eye. This is plaine in manye thinges, but most evident in fence and
-feighting, as I have heard men saye. There every parte standing in feare
-to have a blowe, runnes to the eye for help, as younge children do to
-the mother; the foote, the hande, and all wayteth upon the eye. If the
-eye bid the hand eyther beare of or smite, or the foote eyther go
-forward or backeward, it doth so. And that which is most wonder of al,
-the one man lokinge stedfastlye at the other mans eye and not at his
-hand, wil, even as it were, rede in his eye wher he purposeth to smyte
-next, for the eye is nothing els but a certain windowe for wit to shoote
-out her heade at. This wonderfull worke of God in making all the members
-so obedient to the eye, is a pleasant thing to remember and loke upon:
-therefore an archer may be sure in learninge to loke at his marke when
-hee is younge alwayes to shoote streight.”
-
-The following description of the English archer is from an ancient
-treatise on Martial Discipline:--
-
-  ~Archer to wear easy dress.~
-
-  ~Captains to see that bows &c., were in good order.~
-
-  ~Twenty-four arrows to each man.~
-
-“The yeoman hadde, at those dayes, their lymmes at libertye, for their
-hoseyn were then fastened with one point, and their jackes were long,
-and easy to shote in, so that they mighte draw bowes of great strength,
-and shote arrowes of a yarde long. Captens and officers should be
-skilful of that most noble weapon, and to see that their soldiers
-according to their draught and strength have good bows, well nocked,
-well strynged, everie stringe whippe in their nocke, and in the myddes
-rubbed with wax, braser and shuting glove, some spare strings trymed as
-aforesaid, everie man one shefe of arrows, with a case of leather
-defensible against the rayne, and in the same shefe fower and twentie
-arrows, whereof eight of them should be lighter than the residue, to
-gall and astoyne the enemy with the hailshot of light arrows, before
-they shall come within range of their harquebuss shot.”
-
-  ~Encouraged from the pulpit.~
-
-The subject of archery was not deemed, in those days, an unsuitable
-theme for the pulpit, as may be seen by the following extract from one
-of the seven sermons (the sixth) preached before Edward VI., within the
-preaching place in the palace of Westminster, on the 12th of April,
-1549, by that patriotic reformer, Bishop Latimer. With honest, plain
-spoken words, in the midst of his discourse he breaks off--
-
-  ~Training of Bishop Latimer.~
-
-“Men of England, in times past, when they would exercise themselves,
-(for we must needs have some recreation, our bodies can not endure
-without some exercise), they were wont to goe abroad in the fieldes a
-shooting; but now it is turned into glossing, gulling, and whooring
-within the house. The arte of shooting hath bene in times past much
-esteemed in this realme, it is a gift of God that He hath geven us to
-excell all other nations withall, it hath been God’s instrument whereby
-He hath geven us many victories against our enemies. But now we have
-taken up whooring in townes, instead of shooting in the fieldes. A
-wonderous thing that so excellent a gift of God should be so little
-esteemed. I desire you, my Lordes, even as ye love the honour and glory
-of God, and entend to remove his indignation, let there be sent forth
-some proclamation, some sharpe proclamation to the justices of peace,
-for they doe not thier dutie, justices now be no justices, there be many
-good actes made for this matter already. Charge them upon their
-allegiance that this singular benefite of God may be practised, and that
-it be not turned into bolling, glossing, and whooring within the townes:
-for they be negligent in executing these laws of shooting. In my time my
-poore father was as diligent to teach me to shoote as to learne me any
-other thing, and so I think other men did their children. He taught me
-how to draw, how to lay my body in my bow, and not to draw with strength
-of armes as other nations doe, but with strength of the body. I had my
-bowes bought me according to my age and strength, as I encreased in
-them, so my bowes were made bigger and bigger: for men shall never shoot
-well except they be brought up in it. It is a goodly arte, a wholesome
-kinde of exercise, and much commended in phisicke.”
-
-The following is another extract from the same sermon:--
-
-  ~How estimated by the people.~
-
-“I came once myself to a place, riding on a journey homeward from
-London, and I sent word over night into the towne that I would preach
-there in the morning, because it was a holiday, and methought it was an
-holidayes work. The church stood in my way, and I took my horse and my
-company, and went thither, (I thought I should have found a great
-company in the church,) and when I came there, the church door was fast
-locked. I tarryed there halfe an houre and more, at last the key was
-found, and one of the parish comes to me and said: ‘Sir, this is a busie
-day with us, we cannot heare you, it is Robin Hood’s day. The parish
-are gone abroad to gather for Robin Hood. I pray you let them not.’ I
-thought my rochet should have been regarded, though I were not: but it
-would not serve, it was faine to give place to Robin Hood’s men.”
-
-
-PROOFS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF ARCHERY.
-
-  ~By names of places.~
-
-There is little at the present day in England to afford any adequate
-idea of the high importance, the great skill, and the distinguished
-renown of the English archers. Some few places still retain names which
-tell where the bowmen used to assemble for practice, as “Shooter’s
-Hill,” in Kent; “Newington Butts,” near London; and “St. Augustine’s
-Butts,” near Bristol. The Butts will be found applied to spots of land
-in the vicinity of schools, as for instance, the College School of
-Warwick.
-
-The fields situated to the east of the playing-fields at Eton, and known
-by the name of “The Upper and Lower Shooting-fields,” were probably so
-named from the ancient exercise of archery on these grounds.
-
-  ~Armorial Bearings.~
-
-Many of the noble and county families of Great Britain and Ireland have
-the symbols of archery charged on their escutcheons; as, for instance,
-the Duke of Norfolk, the Marquis of Salisbury, Lord Grey de Wilton, the
-Earl of Aberdeen, the Earl of Besborough, the Earl of Portarlington, the
-Baronetal family of Hales, Sir Martin Bowes, and also on the arms of
-Sydney Sussex College, in Cambridge, and the seal of the Sheffield
-Grammar School.
-
-  ~Government brand.~
-
-The mark or brand used by the Government of the present day, to identify
-public property, is an arrow-head, commonly called “The King’s broad
-arrow.”
-
-  ~Surnames of families.~
-
-There are also existing families which have derived their surnames from
-the names of the different crafts formerly engaged in the manufacture of
-the bow and its accompaniments; as, for instance, the names of Bowyer,
-Fletcher, Stringer, Arrowsmith, Arrow, Bowman, Bowwater, &c.
-
-  ~National proverbs.~
-
-If reference be made to our language, there will be found many phrases
-and proverbial expressions drawn from or connected with archery; some
-suggesting forethought and caution, as “Always have two strings to your
-bow;” “Get the shaft-hand of your adversaries;” “Draw not thy bow before
-thy arrow be fixed;” “Kill two birds with one shaft.” To make an enemy’s
-machination recoil upon himself, they expressed by saying, “To outshoot
-a man in his own bow.” In reference to a vague foolish guess, they used
-to say, “He shoots wide of the mark;” and of unprofitable silly
-conversation, “A fool’s bolt is soon shot;” and as a proof of
-exaggeration, “He draws a long bow.” The unready and unskilful archer
-did not escape the censure and warning of his fellows, although he might
-be a great man and boast that he had “A famous bow, but it was up at the
-castle.” Of such they satirically used to remark, that “Many talked of
-Robin Hood, who never shot in his bow.” Our ancestors also expressed
-liberality of sentiment, and their opinion that merit belonged
-exclusively to no particular class or locality, by the following pithy
-expressions, “Many a good bow besides one in Chester,” and “An archer is
-known by his aim, and not by his arrows.” To these may be added,
-“Testimony is like the shot of a long-bow, which owes its efficacy to
-the force of the shooter; argument is like the shot of a cross-bow,
-equally forcible, whether discharged by a dwarf or a giant.”
-
-
-MILITARY AND POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF SKILL IN THE USE OF THE BOW.
-
-  ~Commenced at the battle of Hastings.~
-
-  ~Achievement lasted through a period of 500 years.~
-
-  ~England had a voluntary army.~
-
-From the time of the battle of Hastings the English archers began to
-rise in repute, and in course of time proved themselves, by their
-achievements in war, both the admiration and terror of their foes, and
-excelled the exploits of other nations. The great achievements of the
-English bowmen which shed lustre upon the annals of the nation, extended
-over a period of more than five centuries, many years after the
-invention and use of fire-arms. England, therefore, in those times,
-possessed a national voluntary militia, of no charge to the Government,
-ready for the field on a short notice, and well skilled in the use of
-weapons. Hence sprung the large bodies of efficient troops which at
-different periods of English history, in an incredibly short time, were
-found ready for the service of their country. These men were not a rude,
-undisciplined rabble, but were trained, disciplined men, every one
-sufficiently master of his weapon to riddle a steel corslet at five or
-six score paces, or in a body, to act with terrible effect against
-masses of cavalry; while most of them could bring down a falcon on the
-wing by a bird-bolt, or with a broad arrow transfix the wild deer in the
-chase.
-
-  ~Archers defeated men-at-arms.~
-
-  ~Value in sieges.~
-
-Before the simple weapon of the British archer, itself but a larger form
-of the simplest plaything of a child, all the gorgeous display of
-knighthood, the elaborated panoply of steel, the magnificent war-horse,
-the serried ranks, the ingenious devices of tacticians and strategists,
-at once gave way; nothing can withstand the biting storm of the
-“cloth-yard shaft.” It was equally efficacious in the field and in the
-siege. The defender of town or castle could not peep beyond his bretèche
-or parapet, but an English arrow nailed his cap to his head. In a field,
-provided the archers were, by marsh, wood or mountain, secured from a
-flank attack, they would bid defiance to any number of mounted
-men-at-arms. Their shafts, falling thick as hail among the horses, soon
-brought them to the ground, or threw them into utter disorder; then the
-armed footmen advanced and commenced a slaughter which was scarcely
-stayed but by weariness of slaying; the archers meantime continuing
-their ravages on the rear of the enemy’s cavalry by a vertical attack,
-prolonged, when the ordinary supply of their quivers had been exhausted,
-by withdrawing them arrows from their slain enemies, to be sent forth on
-new missions of death:--here is encouragement for our modern marksmen
-who are armed with a far more deadly weapon.
-
-  ~Opinion on English archers by Napoleon III.~
-
-  ~Destroyed the prestige of cavalry.~
-
-  ~Estimation of infantry by continental nations.~
-
-The most complete and philosophic digest, which relates to the system of
-British archery, considered from a military point of view, is that given
-by the present Emperor of the French in his treatise “_Sur le Passé et
-l’Avenir de l’Artillerie_.” That the British victory at Cressy was
-wholly attributable to the prowess of British archers, is well known;
-not so well, a circumstance pointed out by the Emperor of the French,
-that thenceforward, and in consequence of that victory, the prestige of
-cavalry declined. Now, there is a political, no less than military
-significance in this lowering of the esteem in which cavalry had
-previously been held. Horsemen were gentlemen, and infantry men of
-inferior degree. Whenever and wherever British archery were _not_
-brought to bear, horsemen were omnipotent, and infantry of little avail.
-During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries--the golden age of archery
-in this land, when yeomen or archers were in such high repute,--France
-and continental nations generally, treated foot soldiers with disdain.
-The Emperor of the French, in his systematic book just adverted to,
-mentions several examples where foot soldiers were ruthlessly cut down
-and ridden over by their own cavalry--the men-at-arms; not that the
-infantry fought ill, but that they fought too well. They were
-slaughtered lest the men-at-arms should have no scope for the exercise
-of their skill.
-
-  ~Archer a yeoman.~
-
-  ~Political results.~
-
-English men-at-arms never sullied their fame by cruel acts like these;
-not that they were better at heart: seeing that human nature is
-everywhere, and under all circumstances, pretty much alike. English
-infantry, mainly composed of archers, were far too valuable to be thus
-used. They bore the first brunt of battle, and not unfrequently decided
-it. At the time when every other foot soldier in Europe was the merest
-serf, the British archer was a yeoman. He had a fixed heraldic rank; the
-first of low degree. He was above the handicraftsman, however
-skilful,--above the merchant--taking his rank immediately after the
-gentry. The excellence of British archery, then tended to bring about a
-political result; helping to establish that middle-class which, ever
-since its consolidation, has been one of the sheet-anchors of our
-glorious constitution.
-
-
-THE ARBALEST, OR CROSS-BOW.
-
-  ~Cross-bow, modification of long.~
-
-In process of time a modification of the bow was invented. In place of
-the original instrument, a much shorter and stiffer bow, usually of
-steel, was placed transversely in a stock, bent by a lever, and
-discharged by a trigger, after the manner since used for a gun.
-
-  ~Invented in Crete or Sicily.~
-
-The cross-bow, or arbalest, called in Latin, arcus balistarius, or
-balista manualis, and in French arbalèt, is said by some to be of
-Sicilian origin; others ascribe its invention to the Cretans. It is
-supposed to have been introduced into France by the first crusaders, and
-is mentioned by the Abbé Suger in his life of Louis le Gros, as being
-used by that Prince, in the beginning of his reign, which commenced in
-the year 1108.
-
-  ~To England by Saxons.~
-
-Verstigan seems to attribute the introduction of this weapon into
-England to the Saxons, under Hengist and Horsa, but cites no authority
-in support of that supposition. In a print representing the landing of
-those generals, the foremost of them is delineated with a cross-bow on
-his shoulder, and others are seen in the hands of the distant figures of
-their followers, landed and landing from their ships.
-
-  ~The Normans got cross-bows from Italy.~
-
-It would appear that the Normans derived the cross-bow, with its name,
-from Italy. In Domesday Book mention is made of Odo, the arbalester, as
-a tenant in capite of the king of lands in Yorkshire; and the manor of
-Worstead, Norfolk, was at the time of Domesday survey, held of the
-Abbot of St. Benet at Holme, by Robert the cross-bow man. The names show
-them to have been Normans, and these instances are sufficient to prove
-the introduction of the weapon, though the few that may have been used
-at the battle of Hastings might occasion its not being represented in
-the Bayeux tapestry.
-
-  ~No cross-bow among Romans.~
-
-The absence of the cross-bow in early Roman monuments leaves it a matter
-of doubt, whether an arbalester would not simply mean the engineer of a
-catapult. There is no mention made of the hand cross-bow in very ancient
-authorities.
-
-  ~William II surnamed Rufus, from 1087 to 1100~
-
-The cross-bow has been used in England (at least, on hunting excursions)
-in the time of Rufus, for Wace tells us, that “Prince Henry, going the
-same day to New Forest, found the string of his cross-bow broken, and
-taking it to a villain to be mended, saw an old woman there, who told
-him he should be king.”
-
-  ~Henry I, 1100 to 1135.~
-
-  ~Cross-bow in war.~
-
-During the reign of Henry I. the cross-bow seems to have been
-principally used in the chase. The projectile was in form of a short
-arrow, with a pyramidical head, called a quarrel, (plate 14, fig. 2 and
-4). Simeon of Durham speaks of it in the time of Henry I. thus:--“He
-raised a machine from whence the archers and cross-bowmen might shoot.”
-
-  ~Genoese celebrated for the use of.~
-
-The Genoese were at all times most celebrated for the skilful management
-of the cross-bow. The success which attended the Christians at the siege
-of Jerusalem, 1100, is attributed principally to the mechanical talents
-of this people.
-
-  ~Use of forbad.~
-
-The use of the cross-bows was general in Italy in 1139, for at that time
-Pope Innocent II. particularly forbad them. The German Emperor Conrad
-did the same, as we learn from William de Dole, who lived in the latter
-part of the 12th century, they not being looked upon as a fair weapon.
-
-  ~Richard I from 1189 to 1199.~
-
-  ~Siege of Acre~
-
-  ~Universal in Crusades.~
-
-  ~Richard killed by.~
-
-It is said of Richard I.:--“Truly he revived the use of this kind of
-shooting, called cross-bow shooting, which had long since been laid
-aside, whence he became so skilful in its management, that he killed
-many people with his own hand.” It is supposed that Richard I. first
-used the cross-bow as a weapon of war at the siege of Acre. In every
-action, however, of which we read in the history of the second crusade,
-as well as the third, in which Richard participated, cross-bows, as well
-as other bows, are repeatedly noticed. It is stated that he was killed
-by an arrow, said to have been shot from a cross-bow at the Castle of
-Chaluz.
-
-  ~Genoese cross-bow men.~
-
-  ~Mounted Arbalists 1225.~
-
-From the beginning of the 13th, and until the middle of the 15th
-century, cross-bow men are uniformly mentioned as part of the Genoese
-troops. From Justinius we learn, that in 1225 “Twenty Arbalestes
-mounted, and one hundred on foot, with cross-bows of horn, were then
-employed in the army of the state.”
-
-The cross-bow man was an essential component of the host during all this
-period. He was in the van of the battle.
-
-  ~Battle near Damietta 1237.~
-
-In the battle near Damietta, in 1237, “more than a hundred knights of
-the Temple fell, and three hundred cross-bow men, &c., &c.”
-
-  ~Campaign in Italy 1239.~
-
-The Emperor Frederic, in 1239, giving an account of his Italian campaign
-to the king of England, writes: “After we had, by our knights and
-cross-bow men, reduced all the province of Liguria,” &c.
-
-  ~Genoese 1245.~
-
-  ~Treatment of.~
-
-Five hundred Genoese cross-bow men were sent against the Milanese in
-1245, and these unfortunate men being placed in front of the line, were
-taken prisoners by the enemy, who, to revenge themselves for the havoc
-done by their bows, cruelly punished each with the loss of an eye, and
-amputation of an arm.
-
-  ~Cross-bows at Cressy 1346.~
-
-There were 15,000 Genoese cross-bow men in the front rank of the French
-army at the battle of Cressy, 1346.
-
-  ~At siege of Le Roche de Rién.~
-
-The next year we find that Charles, Earl of Blois, had at the siege of
-Le Roche de Rién no less than 2,000 in his army.
-
-  ~Corporation of Arbalisters 1359.~
-
-The “Corporation des Arbalestriers de Paris,” in 1359, consisted of two
-hundred members. In 1373, their number, as fixed by a royal ordinance,
-was eight hundred. They were not bound to serve beyond the limits of
-their district without the consent of the Provost of Paris. There were
-both foot and mounted cross-bowmen in this body.
-
-  ~Cross-bow encouraged by Edward III.~
-
-  ~No English in wars of Edward III.~
-
-  ~Genoese mercenaries.~
-
-Edward III., though he wished principally to encourage the long-bow,
-could not help seeing the advantages which might be derived from the
-cross-bow, from the accuracy of its shot, and its convenience on
-horseback. It does not appear that, in the long wars of Edward with the
-French in this century, cross-bowmen were raised in England, though they
-were supplied by Genoese contractors on various occasions for service at
-sea. In 1363 the king caused public proclamation to be made, in order to
-encourage its use.
-
-  ~Matches.~
-
-There were also matches made in different parts of Europe, at which
-prizes were given to the most skilful cross-bowmen.
-
-  ~Mounted cross-bow men in France 1373.~
-
-In the list of the Grand Masters of the Arbalesters of France under
-Charles V., in 1373, appears “Marc de Grimant, Baron d’Antibes,
-Captain-General of Arbalesters, both foot and horse, in the service of
-the king.” And a similar notice occurs in the reign of King John,
-Baudoin de Lence being Grand Master; but it would appear that the
-mounted cross-bowmen were retained in much smaller numbers than the
-foot.
-
-  ~“Pavisers.”~
-
-During the reign of Edward III. cross-bowmen seem first to have been
-protected by “Pavisers,” (plate 15), or men who held before them a large
-shield called a “Pavise.”
-
-  ~Pavisers by English 1404.~
-
-On the attack by the French and Spaniards upon the Isle of Portland in
-1404, the English formed pavisers to protect themselves from the
-cross-bow bolts, by taking the doors from their houses, and fixing them
-upright by props. Under this cover the archers plied their arrows.
-
-  ~Cross-bow not esteemed by English.~
-
-  ~Forbad by Henry VII 1508 & 1515.~
-
-  ~Forbad by Henry VIII 1535.~
-
-  ~Decline of cross-bow.~
-
-The English never had much esteem for the cross-bow in the field. Among
-the 10,500 men led out of England by Henry VI., in 1415, there were only
-ninety-eight Arbalesters, of whom eighteen were horsemen; nevertheless,
-Henry VII. found it necessary to prohibit the use of the cross-bow in
-1508, and, seven years after, another statute was passed, renewing the
-prohibition. This interference, however, of the legislature does not
-seem to have produced the intended effect, for in less than twenty years
-later the use of the cross-bow had become so prevalent, that a new
-statute was judged requisite, which inflicted on every person that kept
-one in his house, the penalty of twenty pounds. It is from this period,
-therefore, that we may date the decline of the arbalest in this
-country, as these statutes produced by degrees the reformation sought
-for. Not a single cross-bow man is to be seen in the paintings belonging
-to the Society of Antiquaries, nor at Cowdray House, representing the
-battles of Henry VIII., and painted at the period; and, to give a
-finishing blow, another statute soon followed, still more decisive.
-
-
-DESCRIPTION OF CROSS-BOW.
-
-  ~Description.~
-
-The ancient cross-bow, which differed in many particulars from those of
-late times, is thus described by Father Daniel, who formed his
-description from one or more then before him.
-
-The cross-bow was an offensive weapon, which consisted of a bow fixed to
-the top of a sort of staff, or stock of wood, which the string of the
-bow, when unbent, crossed at right angles.
-
-  ~Stock.~
-
-  ~Trigger.~
-
-The handle or bed, which was called the stock of the cross-bow, had
-towards the middle a small opening or slit, of the length of two
-fingers, in which was a little moveable wheel of solid steel; through
-the centre of it passed a screw that served for an axis; this wheel
-projected a little beyond the surface of the stock, and had a notch, or
-catch, which stopped and held the string of the bow when bent. In the
-opposite side of the circumference was a much smaller notch, by the
-means of which the spring of the trigger kept the wheel firmer, and in
-its place; this wheel is called the nut of the cross-bow. Under the
-stock, near the handle, was the key of the trigger, like that of the
-serpentine of a musket; by pressing this key with the hand, to the
-handle of the cross-bow, the spring released the wheel that held the
-string, and the string by its motion drove forward the dart.
-
-  ~Back-sight.~
-
-  ~Fore-sight.~
-
-Upon the stock below the little wheel was a small plate of copper, which
-lifted up and shut down, and was fixed by its two legs, with two screws
-to the two sides of the stock; this was a back-sight; it was pierced
-above by two little holes, one over the other, and when the plate was
-raised, these two holes answered to a globule, which was a small bead,
-no bigger than that of a chaplet, that was suspended at the end of the
-cross-bow by a fine wire, and fastened to two perpendicular columns of
-iron, one on the right, the other on the left, and this little globule,
-answering to the holes in the plate, served to direct the aim, whether
-for shooting horizontally, upwards, or downwards.
-
-  ~Cord.~
-
-The cord or string of the bow was double, each string separated by two
-little cylinders of iron, equi-distant from the extremities of the bow
-and the centre; to these two strings in the middle was fixed a ring of
-cord, which served to confine it in the notch previously mentioned when
-the bow was bent. Between the two cords in the centre of the string, and
-immediately before the ring, was a little square of cord, against which
-was placed the extremity of the arrow or dart, to be pushed forward by
-the cord.
-
-  ~Bent by hand.~
-
-  ~By foot~
-
-  ~By pulley.~
-
-The smaller cross-bows were bent with the hand; the larger ones were at
-first bent by the soldier placing his foot in a stirrup, attached to the
-end of the bow; a cord was then fixed by one end to the butt of the
-stock, the other end being fastened to a waistbelt. A pulley, running
-upon the cord, was hooked to the bowstring, and the bow was then bent by
-raising the body and keeping the leg firm.
-
-  ~By moulinet.~
-
-The cross-bow was afterwards furnished with the moulinet and pulleys,
-(plate 13) which after the bow had been bent, could be removed for the
-discharge; these consisted of an iron cylinder in a frame of the same
-metal, made to turn by two moveable handles in opposite directions, and
-having a cap likewise of iron to fit on the butt end of the stock. On
-each side of this cap was a small pulley, the wheel of which was one
-inch and a half in diameter, having attached to one of its arms a strong
-cord that passed thence round an equal sized wheel, returned over the
-first, and then went round one double in diameter, situated beyond the
-second, and so passed to the cylinder of the moulinet, by winding which,
-the power required to bend the bow was lessened to one fourth. Attached
-to the arms of the greater wheels was a double claw, made to slide on
-the plane of the stock, which, catching hold of the bowstring, drew it
-up to the nut. An improvement of the moulinet was, that the handles of
-the cylinder were both made in the same line, instead of being one up
-and the other down.
-
-  ~By windlass.~
-
-At a later period the cross-bow was bent by a windlass, which consisted
-of a bar of iron, shaped at its end into a claw, and having teeth the
-whole length of one edge. This slipped through an iron box, containing a
-wheel, the cogs of which fitted the teeth of the bar, and as a handle
-was fixed to the axle, on turning it the string was wound up. This
-apparatus was attached by a loop, which slipped over the stock, and was
-kept in its place by two iron pins, that projected from the side, and
-then, when bent, it could be easily removed.
-
-  ~By steel lever.~
-
-Another mode of bending the cross-bow was by means of a steel lever,
-called the goat’s-foot lever, which was moveable. This was formed of two
-legs, a catch and a handle, all acting on one pivot. The legs were
-applied to the projecting pieces of iron on each side the stock, and
-then the purchase was very great.
-
-  ~Latch.~
-
-  ~Prodd.~
-
-There were two principal varieties of cross-bows, viz., the “Latch,”
-with grooved stock, for “quarrels,” and the “Prodd,” for bullets. (Plate
-14, fig. 1 and 2.)
-
-  ~Dimensions and form of latch.~
-
-  ~Quarrels viretons.~
-
-In the reign of Henry VI. the stocks of cross-bows were made of hard
-wood, ornamented with ivory. They were about three feet three inches
-long, the bow of steel, about two feet eight inches from end to end,
-weighing in all about fifteen pounds. The length of the groove for the
-quarrel about one foot four inches. The arrows discharged were called
-both quarrels and viretons, (plate 14, fig. 2 and 4,) some with
-feathers, others without. The vireton is a French name; the feathers
-being set on a little curved, made it spin round as it passed through
-the air.
-
-  ~Arquebus or barrelled cross-bow.~
-
-  ~Slit in tube.~
-
-  ~Fired leaden balls.~
-
-It is stated by Captain Panôt, that the Arquebus was in use before the
-invention of powder, and was but an improvement on the arbalest, or
-cross-bow. The Arquebus, like the cross-bow, had a stock, upon which was
-fixed a tube, intended to receive the projectile. This tube was split,
-for the passage of a cord, which was held back by a kind of sheave or
-pulley, which communicated motion to the projectile, on the trigger
-being pulled. In general, leaden balls were fired from the arquebus. The
-barrelled cross-bow was suggested by the “balista grossa de arganellis,”
-which was furnished with tubes for ejecting Greek fire.
-
-  ~Repeating cross-bow.~
-
-In the United Service Museum, Whitehall, there is a cross-bow of
-Cingalese manufacture. It strings itself, and discharges two arrows each
-time in rapid succession, until the magazine is exhausted, which
-contains twelve arrows, and may be replenished in a moment.
-
-  ~Range in Henry V.~
-
-It is evident that the different sizes and various powers of cross-bows
-occasioned a great diversity in the distance of their range. Thus, in
-Henry 5th’s time the range of the cross-bow is stated to have been forty
-rods (220 yards), and it never appears to have been more powerful than
-at that period.
-
-  ~Range in Elizabeth’s.~
-
-M. de Bellay says that the cross-bowman will kill at 100 or 200 paces,
-which gives a great range to the arbalests of Elizabeth’s time.
-
-Sir John Smith, however, in his observations, not long after this, very
-much contracts the distance of their shot, for he says that “a cross-bow
-will kill point-blank between 40 and 60 yards, and, if elevated, 120,
-140, or 160 yards, or further.”
-
-The former probably alluded to the prod, the latter to the latch.
-
-
-COMPARATIVE MERITS OF THE LONG AND CROSS BOW.
-
-How inefficient the cross-bow was found, when opposed by English
-archery, appears in every page of the histories of the fourteenth
-century.
-
-  ~Why long-bow superior.~
-
-The superiority of the long-bow mainly depended upon the strength and
-skill of the archer, while a greater amount of accuracy at shorter
-ranges could be had out of the cross-bow, with much less training; and
-the success of the English archers when opposed to cross-bowmen may be
-mainly ascribed to the more “rapid” fire of the former.
-
-  ~Celerity the great advantage of the long-bow.~
-
-It is generally conceded that the long-bow could deliver at least six
-shafts while the cross-bow discharged one; and, “with such odds against
-them, it became impossible for the bravest and most expert troops,
-whether at Cressy or elsewhere, to make a stand against their opponents”.
-
-  ~Cross-bow best on horseback.~
-
-On the other hand, the cross-bow was decidedly a more convenient weapon
-on horseback than the long-bow.
-
-
-COMPARATIVE MERITS BETWEEN BOWS AND EARLY FIRE-ARMS.
-
-The invention of gunpowder, and its application to artillery and small
-arms, did not produce that sudden change in the art of war, or in
-weapons, that might, on a first consideration, have been expected. Many
-of the old soldiers were much divided in their opinion of the
-superiority of fire-arms, nor does it appear that the government of
-those days were decided upon it, as the strongest statutes for enforcing
-the practice of archery were enacted after their introduction.
-
-  ~Long-bow preferred in Edward III.~
-
-Joshua Barnes, in his life of Edward III., observes, that “without all
-question, the guns which are used now-a-days, are neither so terrible in
-battle nor do such execution nor work such confusion as arrows can do;
-for bullets, being not seen, only hurt where they hit, but arrows
-enrage the horse, and break the array, and terrify all that behold them
-in the bodies of their neighbours. Not to say that every archer can
-shoot thrice to a gunner’s once, and that whole squadrons of bows may
-let fly at one time, when only one or two files of musqueteers can
-discharge at once. Also, that whereas guns are useless when your pikes
-join, because they only do execution point-blank, the arrows which will
-kill at random may do good service even behind your men of arms.”
-
-  ~Long-bow the favourite in Henry VIII.~
-
-Although fire-arms had attained no inconsiderable degree of perfection
-in the reign of Henry VIII., yet the long-bow was still the favourite
-weapon.
-
-  ~Merits balanced in Queen Mary’s reign.~
-
-So indifferent were the ministers of Queen Mary respecting them, that in
-her ordinance respecting armour and weapons, the alternative is left to
-the choice of the people, whether they should find a long-bow and sheaf
-of arrows, or a haquebutt, in every case where they were by law charged
-with the latter.
-
-  ~The lighter ammunition of the harquebus an advantage.~
-
-In the reign of Elizabeth, the musket was so slow to charge and
-discharge that the bow was considered superior by many; and Mons. de
-Bellay states that if archers and cross-bowmen could carry their arrows,
-&c., as easy as harquebusiers do their ammunition, he would prefer the
-former weapon over the latter.
-
-  ~Arrows make more severe wounds than bullets.~
-
-The effects of arrows sticking in horses, are said to have been
-frightful. This can be easily imagined. A fire-arm bullet can be shot
-quite through a horse without causing the animal to show one sign of
-anguish. He goes steadily on his previous course, and makes no sign.
-However fatal of necessity, a fire-arm bullet gives no immediate pain.
-Not so the arrow. Planted never so lightly in a horse’s neck or flank,
-the animal grew furious. Starting off into a wild gallop to escape the
-barbed sting, the animal had no respite for his agony. The wilder the
-pace, the greater the pain. Far from the serried squadrons where he fain
-would be, sore against his will, rushed the mail-clad knight. Plunging
-and rearing, the steed would throw him at last, amidst the dead and
-dying; himself to die.
-
-Though comparatively few men or horses were killed by arrow wounds at
-once, few, nevertheless, recovered. The barbed arrow-head was
-immeasurably more dangerous, imbedded in the flesh, than a mere lump of
-lead. Hundreds of men, hale and well to-day, have had fire-arm bullets
-imbedded in their flesh for years. Not so in the time of archery. The
-arrow-head must be extracted, or mortification came on, and soon a cruel
-death. Neither was the surgical process of extraction often happy in the
-results. It would not be easy to extract a barbed arrow-head even now,
-with all the appliances of modern surgery at hand.
-
-  ~Arrow wounds more fatal.~
-
-Another fatal consequence of arrow wounds on the field of battle was
-this: men wounded thus were rarely taken prisoners. Arrows were
-expensive ammunition. The battle over, detachments were sent out to
-collect them; and the collection was not done too tenderly. To regain an
-arrow seemed a far more meritorious act than to save the life of an
-enemy. The throat of many a wounded wretch was mercilessly cut, that he
-might be quiet whilst the arrow was being extracted.
-
-  ~Bows useless in wind.~
-
-  ~In rain.~
-
-The defects of archery were these:--the ammunition was expensive, and
-when lost, not easily replaced. The flight of arrows is never correct on
-a windy day, from whatever direction the wind may blow. Rain relaxes the
-bow and bowstring, so that archery then is of little use. All these are
-serious defects; but there was another of more importance still. When
-the archer’s ammunition was all expended, he was nearly powerless. A
-sword, indeed, he carried, for close fighting; and each archer stuck
-into the ground before him a sharp pointed stake as a protection against
-cavalry.
-
-  ~Hand-gun most penetration.~
-
-  ~Silent discharge in favor of bows.~
-
-The great advantage of the hand-gun was from its penetration, as no
-armour could keep out balls, but the _silent_ discharge of the cross-bow
-rendered it superior in the pursuit of timid animals, and the prodd has
-continued in use to the present day, for the purpose of killing deer,
-rooks, and rabbits.
-
-  NOTE.--The articles on ancient Engines of War, and upon the Bow, are
-  principally taken from the following works, viz:--“Military
-  Antiquities,” by F. Grose, Esq.; “A Critical Inquiry into Ancient
-  Armour,” by Sir S. R. Meyrick; “Ancient Armour and Weapons in Europe,”
-  by John Hewitt; “Projectile Weapons of War,” and “Report of the Rifle
-  Match at Wimbledon Common,” by J. Scoffern, M. B.; “Engines of War,”
-  by H. Wilkinson, and “The Long-Bow of the Past and the Rifle for the
-  Future,” by H. Britannicus.
-
-
-
-
-HISTORY OF ARTILLERY.
-
-
-  ~Fate of nations depends on arms.~
-
-There is no subject more intimately connected with the history of the
-world, from the remotest antiquity than the history of Arms, the fate of
-nations having always depended either on the superiority of the Arms
-employed, or on the superior discipline or dexterity of those who used
-them, wholly independent of the numbers by which they were opposed.
-
-  ~Artillery includes all war-engines.~
-
-Before the introduction of gunpowder, all kinds of weapons, both
-offensive and defensive, were included in the term “Artillery,” which
-has since become restricted to the larger kinds of fire-arms, such as
-guns, mortars, howitzers, rockets, &c. Thus we find in the I. Saml. xx.,
-40, “And Jonathan gave his artillery to his lad,” when speaking of bows
-and arrows. Again, in the 20th, Henry VIII., a patent was granted to
-Anthony Knevt and Peter Mentas, “to be overseers of the science of
-Artillery;” and in an enumeration of the different species of Artillery,
-printed in 1594, are reckoned “long-bows, cross-bows, slur-bows,
-stone-bows, scorpions, and catapultas.”
-
-  ~Definition of Artillery.~
-
-The root of the word “artillery,” is the Latin word “_ars_,” an “art.”
-It has been fantastically derived from the Italian _arte di tirare_, the
-art of firing. In the fourteenth century the science of war-engines was
-called _artemonie_, and its productions _artillerie_, from the old
-French word _artiller_, “to employ art.” Some writers state that the
-word “artillery,” is derived from _arcus_ “a bow,” the earlier species
-of artillery being termed _arcualia_.
-
-  ~First invention unknown.~
-
-  ~Names of gun--from old machines.~
-
-It is difficult to determine with any degree of accuracy the epoch at
-which gunpowder and its resultants, fire-arms, were first employed for
-the purposes of war in any part of the world; and this difficulty is
-increased, at least, as far as regards Europe, from the fact, that the
-first engines of war, depending on the use of gunpowder, were named
-after the old machines for throwing darts, stones, &c.
-
-  ~First mention of guns.~
-
-The earliest account which we have of gunpowder, where it is mentioned
-as applied to fire-arms, exists in a code of Gentoo Laws, and is thought
-by many to be coeval with the time of Moses. The notice occurs in the
-Sanscrit preface to the Code of Gentoo Laws, translated by Halhed, at
-page 53, viz:--“The Magistrate shall not make war with any deceitful
-machine, or with poisoned weapons, or with _cannon or guns_, &c.” Halhed
-observes: “It will no doubt strike the reader with wonder to find a
-prohibition of fire-arms in records of such unfathomable antiquity, and
-he will probably hence renew the suspicion, which has long been deemed
-absurd, that Alexander the Great did absolutely meet with some weapons
-of this kind in India, as a passage in Quintus Curtius seems to
-ascertain.”
-
-  ~Greek fire, earliest European combustible.~
-
-  ~Gunpowder known before in China.~
-
-  ~Chinese explosive shell.~
-
-  ~Early Chinese cannon.~
-
-The Greek fire seems to have been one of the earliest attempts in Europe
-at the manufacture of a military combustible; but there is some reason
-to believe that the Chinese had become acquainted with the nature of
-gunpowder long before the introduction or invention of the aforenamed
-substance; and they appear to have been the first who took any steps in
-its manufacture, or in that of weapons of war resulting from its use.
-Amongst the machines constructed by this extraordinary people, was one
-called “the thunder of the earth,” which is thus described by M.
-Reinaud; and M. Favé: “A hollow globe of iron was filled with a bucket
-of gunpowder, mixed with fragments of metal, and was so arranged, that
-it exploded on the approach of an enemy, so as to cause great
-destruction in his ranks.” The “impetuous” dart of the Chinese, was a
-round bamboo, about two and a half feet in length, lashed with hempen
-cords to prevent its splitting, and having a strong wooden handle fixed
-to one end, thus making its entire length about five feet. This was then
-charged with powder of different kinds, arranged in layers, over which
-were placed fire balls, which being thrown to a distance of thirty or
-forty yards by the discharge, consumed any combustible materials they
-might come in contact with.
-
-  ~Guns in China, 618 B. C.~
-
-A late writer, M. Paravey, has in a great measure established the fact,
-that gunpowder and fire-arms were known to the Chinese long before the
-Christian era; and it is mentioned in Chinese writings, that in the year
-618 B. C., a gun was in use, bearing this inscription, “I hurl death to
-the traitor, and extermination to the rebel.”
-
-  ~A. D. 757.~
-
-Guns are said to have been constructed in China, in 757 A. D., for the
-purpose of throwing stones of the weight of from ten to fourteen pounds
-to a distance of 300 paces. Whatever doubts may exist as to the earlier
-history of artillery among the Chinese, it is almost beyond question,
-that cannon were extensively used by them in the beginning of the 13th
-century, as we have access to various reliable accounts, establishing
-this fact.
-
-  ~Artillery at Saragossa, A. D., 1118.~
-
-  ~At Niebla, A. D., 1157.~
-
-Condé, in his history of the Moors in Spain, states that artillery was
-used by them against Saragossa in 1118 A. D., and that in 1157, A. D.
-they defended themselves in Niebla, against the Spaniards, by means of
-machines, which threw darts and stones, through the agency of fire.
-
-  ~Used against the Moguls, A. D. 1232.~
-
-In 1232 A. D. cannon throwing stone shot were used against the Moguls,
-and during this war, certain machines were also employed, which being
-filled with powder, and ignited at the proper time, burst with a noise
-like thunder, and whose effect extended for the space of half an acre
-round the spot where they exploded.
-
-  ~Cannon bearing date 1258 found in France.~
-
-A small brass cannon is said to have been found at the bottom of a deep
-well of the Castle de Clucy, in France, with the date 1258 upon it.
-
-  ~Cannon used against Cordova, A. D. 1280.~
-
-  ~Iron shot, 14th century.~
-
-In 1280 A. D., cannon were used against Cordova, after which period,
-they are frequently mentioned in the records of Spain. Iron shot appear
-to have been first used in that country in the beginning of the 14th
-century.
-
-  ~Cannon used by Arabians, 1312.~
-
-Cannon are described by Arabian authors as early as 1312.
-
-The first mention we have of the use of fire arms, after this period, is
-in the life of Robert Bruce, by John Barbour, Archdeacon of Aberdeen, in
-which certain engines termed, “crakeys of war,” are spoken of, as having
-been used by Edward III., in his campaign against the Scots, in 1327.
-
-  ~Cannon in France, 1338.~
-
-It is generally believed that cannon were commonly employed in Europe
-since 1338, as they were used by the French in that year to demolish
-some castles.
-
-  ~Siege of Algesiras, 1342 to 1344.~
-
-Gunpowder is said to have been used at the siege of Algesiras by
-Alphonse of Castile against the Moors, 1342 to 1344.
-
-  ~Cannon at Cressy, 1346.~
-
-Edward III. had four guns at the battle of Cressy, 1346. Froissart
-mentions these guns in one of his manuscripts, now preserved in the
-library of Amiens. A free translation of the passage referred to would
-run as follows: “And the English caused to fire suddenly certain guns
-which they had in the battle, to astonish (or confound) the Genoese.”
-Vilani, a Florentine historian, also confirms this statement, as well as
-a passage in the chronicles of St. Denis, which speaks of the use of
-cannon by the English at Cressy. An ancient manuscript also mentions the
-existence of gunners and artillerymen, whom Edward III. employed when he
-landed before Calais in 1346, and the several stipends each soldier
-received. The sentence runs thus: “Masons, carpenters, engineers,
-gunners, and artillerymen, the sum of 12, 10, 6, and 3 pence per diem.”
-
-  ~Cannon of two kinds.~
-
-  ~Used by the Black Prince, 1356.~
-
-  ~At St. Valery, 1358.~
-
-The first fire-arms appear to have consisted of two kinds; a larger one
-for discharging stones, called a bombard, (plate 18, fig. 3) and a
-smaller for propelling darts and leaden balls, both of which were used
-in 1356, by the Black Prince, to reduce the castle of Romozantin; and
-two years later, the artillery of St. Valery did great execution among
-its besiegers.
-
-  ~Cannon made in England, 1377~
-
-Cannon were made in England in the fourteenth century, and Richard II.
-commissioned Sir Thomas Norwich to buy two great and two small cannon in
-London, or in any other place; and also 600 balls of stone for cannon
-and for other engines, to be sent to the Castle of Bristol.
-
-  ~Cannon at St. Malo.~
-
-When the English unsuccessfully besieged St. Malo, 400 cannon are said
-to have been used, but these are supposed to have been of the smaller
-kind, called hand cannon, or culverins, which were carried by two men,
-and fired from a kind of tripod or rest fixed in the ground.
-
-  ~Cannon general.~
-
-  ~Bombards made of iron.~
-
-  ~Bronze.~
-
-  ~Leather, rope, &c.~
-
-  ~Wood.~
-
-From this period, cannon were used in all the offensive and defensive
-operations of war; though a considerable time elapsed before it became a
-really serviceable arm for field operations. The earlier kinds of cannon
-were called bombards or bombardæ. Those first employed were clumsy,
-(plate 16) and ill contrived, wider at the mouth than at the chamber.
-They merely consisted of bars of iron, arranged in such a manner that
-their internal aspects should form a tube. The bars were not welded
-together, but merely confined by hoops. They were also made of iron bars
-over a cylinder of copper, strengthened by iron hoops, driven on red
-hot, and others were entirely composed of copper. Bronze was also
-employed in the manufacture of artillery, as well as thin sheets of iron
-rolled together; and guns made of leather, and coiled rope, over a
-cylinder of copper or gun metal, were also introduced, and continued in
-use for a considerable time. Guns also appear to have been made of wood.
-
-  ~Rope mortar at Venice.~
-
-In the arsenal at Venice there is an ancient mortar, constructed of
-leather and rope, used in the siege of the island of Chioggia, near
-Venice, against the Genoese, 1380. The shot is of stone, 14in. in
-diameter.
-
-  ~Cannon of paper.~
-
-It has been heard recently, that the Chinese constructed their cannon of
-prepared paper, lined with copper.
-
-  ~Field cannon to keep up with army, 1380.~
-
-As early as 1380 it is said the French were able to procure for the
-invasion of Italy, a great number of brass cannon, mounted on carriages,
-and drawn by horses, instead of oxen; these pieces threw balls of from
-40lbs. to 60lbs. in weight and could always keep pace with the army.
-(Plate 18, fig. 1, 3, and 4.)
-
-  ~Large cannon 1400.~
-
-A cannon taken at the siege of Dien in 1546, by John de Castro, and now
-in Lisbon, is 20 feet 7in. in length, 6 feet 3in. in diameter in the
-middle, and threw a ball of 100lbs. A Hindostani inscription on it
-states that it was cast in 1400.
-
-  ~Bolts and quarrels shot, 1413.~
-
-  ~Red-hot iron balls used at Cherbourg, 1418.~
-
-  ~Slow to discharge.~
-
-Bolts and quarrels were shot from cannon in the reign of Henry V.; these
-were succeeded by stones, as he ordered in 1418, “labourers to make
-7,000 stones for the guns of different sorts from the quarries of
-Maidstone.” We learn from Elam’s life of Henry V., that when an English
-army, commanded by the Duke of Gloucester, besieged Cherbourg in 1418,
-the besieged discharged _red-hot_ balls of _iron_ from their cannon into
-the English camp, to burn the huts. So much time elapsed between the
-loading and discharging the great guns, that the besieged had sufficient
-time to repair at their leisure, the breaches made by the enormous
-stones, &c., thrown from them.
-
-  ~Cannon at Meaux, 1422.~
-
-Five wrought-iron bombards are preserved in the “Musée de l’Artillerie,”
-at Paris; which were, it is said, abandoned by the English, at the town
-of Meaux, in 1422.
-
-  ~Cannon cast, 1450.~
-
-About the middle of the fifteenth century, the ancient method of
-constructing cannon was exchanged for that of casting. A hard or mixed
-metal was invented called “font metal” or bronze, and cannon were then
-cast in one piece, and instead of fanciful names, they began to be
-indicated by the weight of their ball, as at present.
-
-  ~Siege of Constantinople, 1453.~
-
-  ~Small guns with several barrels.~
-
-  ~Large brass gun, cast at Adrianople.~
-
-At the siege of Constantinople, by Mahomet II., stones were thrown
-weighing 1,200lbs.! The cannon employed could not be discharged more
-than three or four times a day. This siege was distinguished by the
-re-union of ancient and modern artillery; the small arms of the
-Christians discharged five, or even ten balls at the same time, as large
-as walnuts; and one piece made for the Turks, by Urban, a Dane, cast a
-stone bullet weighing 600lbs., which could be discharged seven times a
-day, but it ultimately burst. This gun was cast of brass at Adrianople,
-of stupendous and almost incredible magnitude; twelve palms is assigned
-to the bore. A vacant space before the palace was chosen for the first
-experiment, but to prevent the sudden and mischievous effects of
-astonishment and fear, a proclamation was issued that the cannon would
-be discharged on the following day. The explosion was felt or heard in a
-circuit of 100 furlongs, the ball was driven above a mile and buried
-itself a fathom in the ground. A carriage of thirty waggons was linked
-together to carry the gun along, and drawn by a team of sixty oxen; 200
-men on both sides were stationed to poise or sustain the rolling weight,
-250 workmen marched before it to smooth the way, and repair the bridges,
-and near two months were employed in a laborious journey of 150 miles.
-This enormous gun was flanked by two of almost equal magnitude, and
-fourteen batteries, mounting 130 guns, were brought to bear upon the
-place. The cannon were intermingled with machines for throwing stones
-and darts.
-
-  ~Artillery of Scots 1496.~
-
-  ~Breech-loaders.~
-
-The Scots had a kind of artillery peculiar to themselves, called “Carts
-of War.” They are described in an Act of Parliament, thus “ilk Cart twa
-gunnis and ilk ane to have twa Chalmers and an Cumrand man to shute
-theme.” These were breech-loaders, and in 1471, the Barons were
-commanded to provide such “Carts of War” against their old enemies the
-English. (Plate 18, fig. 1.)
-
-  ~Cannon named.~
-
-It was not uncommon to give strange names to early cannon; thus Louis
-XII. had twelve brass ones cast in 1503, of enormous size, which he
-named after the twelve Peers of France; the Spaniards and Portugese
-christened theirs after their Saints, and the Emperor Charles V. had
-twelve when he went against Tunis, which he named after the Twelve
-Apostles.
-
-  ~Cause of improvements.~
-
-  ~Iron balls in England, 15th century.~
-
-As a knowledge of the art of gunnery increased, great improvements took
-place with regard to projectiles; and balls of iron were substituted in
-the place of those formed of stone, being introduced into England in the
-sixteenth century.
-
-  ~Iron guns cast.~
-
-  ~Hand-culverines.~
-
-  ~Organ-guns.~
-
-Iron guns were not cast in this country until the year 1547, foreigners
-being generally employed to manufacture them. Both Henry VII. and Henry
-VIII. took great pains to introduce the art of gunnery into the kingdom;
-and to this end, had a number of Flemish gunners in their daily pay; in
-fact, it is said, that the latter monarch himself, invented small pieces
-of artillery to defend his waggons. The earlier species of field
-artillery, embraced among others, a small kind of ordnance called, “hand
-cannon,” or culverins, which were so light and portable, that they could
-be carried and served by two men; they were fired from a rest, placed on
-the ground; also “ribandequins” or organ guns; these latter consisted of
-a number of tubes, placed in a row, like those of an organ, and appear
-to have been of French origin, as were many of the improvements which
-took place about that period, including the invention of wall pieces,
-throwing leaden balls of ten to the pound.
-
-  ~Mortars, Henry VIII.~
-
-  ~Shells.~
-
-  ~Varieties of cannon.~
-
-  ~Queen Elizabeth’s Pocket-pistol.~
-
-For mortars we are indebted to workmen of Henry VIII. as “one Peter Bawd
-and one Peter Vancollen, both the king’s feed men, devised and caused to
-be made certain mortar pieces, being at the mouth from eleven to
-nineteen inches wide, and also certain hollow shot of cast iron, to be
-stuffed with fire-work or wild-fire, for to break in pieces the same
-hollow shot.” And in the first year of Edward VI. the said Peter Bawd
-did make ordnance of iron of divers forms, as fawconet, fawkons,
-minions, sakers, &c. His servant, J. Johnson, did like make and cast
-iron ordnance cleaner and to better perfection, to the great use of this
-land. His son Thomas Johnson, in 1593, made forty two cast pieces of
-great ordnance for the Earl of Cumberland, demi cannon, weighing
-5,000lbs. or three tons the piece. At Dover there is a culverine,
-presented to Queen Elizabeth, by the States General of Holland, and
-called Queen Elizabeth’s Pocket-pistol. It is 24 feet long, diameter of
-bore 4¹⁄₂ inches, weight of shot 12lbs.; it was manufactured in 1544,
-and is mounted on an ornamented iron carriage made in 1827, at the Royal
-Carriage Department, Woolwich Arsenal. (Plate 17, fig. 2.)
-
-  ~Mons Meg.~
-
-There is a large gun at Edinburgh Castle, called Mons Meg; it measures
-about 13 feet 4 inches in length, the diameter of the bore is about 1
-foot 6 inches; it has a chamber about 4 feet long and 6 inches in
-diameter. (Plate 17, fig. 3.)
-
-  ~Field-guns, 1554.~
-
-The battle of Remi, in 1554, was the first action in which light field
-guns, having limbers, were used,--these guns accompanied the cavalry.
-
-  ~Red-hot shot, 1580.~
-
-Pere Daniel says that red-hot iron shot were used by Marshal Matignan,
-during the siege of la Fère, in 1580.
-
-  ~Calibre, time of Queen Elizabeth.~
-
-In a table of ordnance, given by Fosbrooke, as being a list of the guns
-used in the time of Elizabeth, and immediately preceding her, we find
-how little the calibres of iron guns have altered during the last two or
-three centuries, as these guns have all their antitypes among those of
-the present day.
-
-  ~Origin of canister and grape.~
-
-  ~Improved mode of loading, by Gustavus Adolphus.~
-
-The beginning of the seventeenth century was an important epoch in the
-history of artillery; and much attention was given to this branch of the
-military profession, by Henry IV., of France, Maurice, of Nassau, and
-Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden. The former of these distinguished leaders,
-introduced new and improved forms and kinds of missiles; such as tin
-cases, filled with steel bolts or darts; canvas cartridges, containing
-small balls, and hollow shot or shells, filled with combustible
-materials. Gustavus Adolphus, introduced really serviceable field guns,
-of a lighter construction than had hitherto been made use of, and he
-also adopted the use of cartridges, with shot attached, so that these
-pieces might be discharged eight times before the musket could be fired
-six. It is said that he chiefly owed his victory at Leipzig, in 1631, to
-guns made of leather and coiled rope, over a cylinder of copper or gun
-metal. On the whole, the artillery of Gustavus was admirably organized;
-and he was the first who appreciated the importance of causing artillery
-to act in concentrated masses, a principle, now so fully recognized by
-all artillerists.
-
-  ~Bombs at sea.~
-
-Bombs were first used at sea, by the French, in the bombardment of
-Algiers, Oct. 28th, 1681, in the reign of Louis XIV.
-
-  ~The largest gun.~
-
-One of the largest cannon now existing is a brass one at Bejapoor,
-called “Moolik-i-Meidan,” or “The Lord of the Plain.” It was cast in
-commemoration of the capture of that place by the Emperor Alum Geer, in
-1685. Its length is 14ft. 1in., diameter about 5ft. 8in., diameter of
-bore, 2ft. 4in., interior length of bore, 10ft.; length of chamber
-unknown; shape of gun nearly “cylindrical;” description of shot,
-_stone_. An iron shot for this gun, of proper size, would weigh 1600lbs.
-It is now lying in a dilapidated circular bastion on the left of the
-principal gateway of the city. The trunnions are broken off, and there
-is a ring on each side of it, as well as two Persian inscriptions on the
-top. It is placed on three heavy beams of wood, packed round with large
-stones. A number of _stone_ shot, of 2ft. 2in. in diameter, are
-scattered about. This gun is said to be the heaviest piece of ordnance
-in the world. It weighs about forty-two tons. An Italian of Otranto, who
-served in the Mogul armies under the title of Renni Khan, had it in his
-park of artillery, and used it at several battles, occasionally firing
-sacks of copper coins out of it. (Plate 18, fig. 2.)
-
-  ~Gun at Moorshedabad.~
-
-There is a remarkable gun near the palace of the Nawab of Moorshedabad,
-which measures 17ft. 8in. in length, 5ft. in circumference at the
-smallest part near the muzzle, while it is only 6in. in the diameter of
-the bore, and the foresight is at least four or five inches above the
-muzzle. After the battle of Khallissie, which was fought about 25 miles
-from here, it is supposed to have been buried under a tree. The tree,
-having grown since then, has forced the gun above the ground about three
-feet, where it now remains, partly encircled by the roots and trunk. It
-has no name; the natives call it “the gun in the tree.” It is made of
-cast iron, and is evidently of Indian manufacture, having Hindostanee
-inscriptions engraved on it, but no date.
-
-  ~Size and expense of cannon, 1688.~
-
-Bishop Wilkins says, “These Gunpowder instruments are extremely
-expensive, as a whole cannon commonly weighs 8000lbs., requiring 90 men,
-or 16 horses, with a charge of 40lbs. of powder, and a ball weighing
-64lbs”.
-
-  ~Length and weight gradually reduced.~
-
-The length and diameter of cannon became gradually much reduced,
-experience having determined how much they might be diminished in weight
-without injury to their safety, or to the effects they were intended to
-produce.
-
-  ~Horse artillery by Frederick the Great.~
-
-Frederick the Great of Prussia made some improvements with regard to the
-calibre of field guns, and to him may be given the credit of the
-introduction of Horse Artillery.
-
-  ~Guns bored.~
-
-Guns, at this period, were cast hollow by means of a core, which was
-kept suspended in the centre of the mould, while the metal was being run
-in. Owing, however, to the great difficulty experienced in keeping this
-core in a perfectly true position, several artillerists deliberated
-whether guns, cast hollow or solid, had the preference, and
-investigations took place as to the possibility of boring the latter,
-the result of which was, that Maritz, who had a foundry at Geneva,
-informed the Court of France, in 1739, that he had discovered a method
-of boring guns and mortars which had been cast solid. He was at once
-invited to France, where, first at Lyons, and afterwards at Strasbourg,
-he secretly worked at boring pieces of ordnance, which, on trial, proved
-perfectly satisfactory.
-
-  ~Guns of ice.~
-
-In the year 1740, a curious experiment in artillery was made at St.
-Petersburgh, where guns were cut out of solid ice, from which balls of
-the same substance were fired repeatedly, without bursting.
-
-  ~Improvements.~
-
-  ~Axle-trees.~
-
-  ~High limbers.~
-
-  ~Reduction of windage.~
-
-From this period, the science of artillery progressed rapidly, and
-various improvements were made in this arm of the service, such as the
-introduction of iron axle-trees, and high limbers for the carriages of
-field guns. The reduction of windage, (mainly owing to the invention of
-carronades), and the use of cartridges and elevating screws, which
-latter served to render the fire of artillery much more rapid and
-regular.
-
-  ~Rifled ordnance 1774.~
-
-The invention of rifled ordnance is claimed by a Dr. Lind and a Capt. A.
-Blair, late 69th regt. Experiments were made at Landguard Fort, 26th
-August, 1774, by which it was intended to prove that shot weighing
-42lbs., in the shape of a pear, would do as much execution, fired out of
-an 18 pounder, with a third of the quantity of powder, as could be
-effected by round balls of the same weight, fired from a 42 pounder.
-
-  ~Perforated and fluted shot.~
-
-Sundry trials were also made with shot perforated through the centre,
-and spirally fluted on the surface, suggested by Professor Anderson, of
-Glasgow, in order to prevent the common aberration in the flight of
-shot.
-
-  ~Leaden projectiles.~
-
-  ~Breech-loading Rifled cannon.~
-
-There were different modes of charging the rifled guns; one was, after
-the powder was put in, to take a leaden bullet something larger than the
-bore of the gun, and grease it well; in ramming it down with an iron
-rammer hollow at one end, the spiral threads of the rifle entered and
-cut into the bullet, and caused it to turn round in going down, and on
-being shot out, it would rotate on an axis coincident with its flight.
-Another mode was to charge them at the breech, where an opening for the
-reception of the powder and ball was afterwards closed up by a screw;
-but some barrels were screwed off at the breech-end to be charged, where
-they were made stronger than common.
-
-  ~Congreve’s rockets.~
-
-The adaptation of the rocket to the purposes of war, by Sir William
-Congreve, in 1806, introduced a new feature into the artillery of this
-and other countries.
-
-  ~Mr. Monk’s improvements.~
-
-Recently, at the suggestion of a Mr. Monk, of Woolwich Arsenal, a
-quantity of useless metal has been removed from before the trunnions,
-and the thickness increased considerably at the breech end, where alone
-it was wanted.
-
-  ~Mallet’s monster mortar.~
-
-The monster mortars recently constructed by Mr. Mallet, of separate
-compound hoops, must be regarded as a triumph of constructive skill. The
-shell is 30 inches in diameter, holding a bursting charge of 480 lbs.,
-and weighing when charged 1¹⁄₂ tons (3,360 lbs.). Value of shell
-charged, £25. Weight, without bed, 42 tons. Weight of bed, 8 tons.
-Total, 50 tons.
-
-  ~Cavalli’s and Wahrendorff’s~
-
-In 1846, two rifled cannon were invented, one by Major Cavalli, of the
-Sardinian Artillery; and the other by Baron Wahrendorff, a Swedish
-nobleman. Both of these were iron breech-loading guns, having two
-grooves in order to give the requisite rifle motion to their
-projectiles.
-
-  ~Experiments to test.~
-
-Experiments were carried on at Shoeburyness, in 1850, with these guns.
-The deviations were always in the direction of the rotation of the
-projectiles; but they were so variable in amount that no allowance could
-be made for them in laying the gun with respect to the object. The
-Cavalli gun became unserviceable after having fired four rounds, by the
-copper ring or bouche imbedded in the metal of the gun at the bottom of
-the bore being damaged. The Wahrendorff gun stood well, the wedge
-resisting more effectually the force of the discharge than that of the
-Cavalli gun.
-
-  ~Lancaster’s rifle gun.~
-
-Mr. Lancaster’s novel invention of applying the rifle principle to
-cannon, may be described as “a two-grooved rifle in disguise,” having a
-“gaining twist,” the bore being an ellipse.
-
-  ~Defects of.~
-
-The chief defect in the Lancaster gun is the liability of the projectile
-to jam in the bore, both in loading and firing, the former rendering the
-loading difficult, while the latter endangers the safety of the gun. In
-consequence of several of these guns bursting, and also from the
-anticipated large range with great precision not being obtained from
-them, the Lancaster guns were removed from the service after the Crimean
-war.
-
-  ~Sir W. Armstrong.~
-
-Sir W. Armstrong submitted a proposal for his breech-loading gun to the
-Duke of Newcastle, then Minister at War, towards the end of 1854; his
-proposal being accepted, and a gun accordingly constructed, it was
-submitted to numerous trials, both at Shoeburyness, and near Sir W.
-Armstrong’s private factory at Newcastle. This gun is now made entirely
-of wrought iron, although the original one had a steel bore. It is a
-built-up gun, that is to say, it is composed of separate pieces, each
-piece being of such moderate size as to admit of being forged without
-risk of flaw or failure. By this mode of construction, great strength,
-and consequently, great lightness, are secured. The shell used combines
-the principle of the shrapnel and percussion shell, i.e., it may be made
-to explode either as it approaches the object, or as it strikes it.
-Moreover, it may be made to explode at the instant of leaving the gun,
-in which case, the pieces spread out like a fan, and produce the usual
-effect of grape or canister. Armstrong’s guns are now (1860) being
-employed in China.
-
-  ~Whitworth.~
-
-Mr. Whitworth’s rifled gun, with which experiments were lately made near
-Liverpool, is also a breech-loading piece, and of the following
-construction. The form of the bore is that of a hexagonal spiral, the
-corners of which are rounded off. The inclination of the spiral varies
-with the diameter of the bore, but is in all these guns very great, the
-projectiles being comparatively long.
-
-  ~French rifled ordnance.~
-
-Rifled ordnance were introduced into the French service just previous to
-the commencement of the late Italian war of 1859, and aiming at the
-greatest practical simplicity, the French government adopted only one
-nature of gun for field service, and one for siege purposes, both made
-of bronze. The French rifled cannon are muzzle loading, and those first
-introduced had two or three grooves, but the field pieces used in Italy
-had six grooves, their inclination being about one turn in 59 inches. A
-number of heavy cast-iron guns are rifled with two grooves, and have
-been placed on board French ships of war; and these, unless
-strengthened, could be used but with very small charges.
-
-  ~Advantages of rifled guns.~
-
-The advantages obtained by the successful employment of rifled guns--
-
-  Great accuracy of fire,
-  Long range,
-  Penetration,
-  Small charge,
-  Simplicity of equipment and ammunition,
-  Lightness of gun.
-
-  ~Classification of artillery.~
-
-Artillery may be classed under the several heads of field artillery
-(including artillery of position), siege artillery and artillery for the
-armament of garrisons, fortresses, and coast defences; its equipment is
-a combination of men, materiel, and horses necessary for these services.
-
-  ~Three kinds of guns.~
-
-All ordnance employed in the service, may be divided into three classes,
-viz., Guns, Mortars, and Howitzers.
-
-  ~Carronades discontinued.~
-
-Carronades may be considered obsolete, although a certain number are
-still supplied to the navy, and a few will be found mounted in some
-garrisons and coast batteries.
-
-  ~Classification of guns and their uses.~
-
-Guns are used for projecting shot and shell, horizontally or at very low
-angles, and as they are fired with large charges of powder, which are
-fixed for each nature of gun, very great strength and considerable
-weight are required in their construction. Guns are of two kinds, viz.,
-(solid) shot guns, and shell guns. Some guns are also classed as heavy,
-medium, and light. Those generally employed for field service, are made
-of bronze or gun-metal; all guns of higher calibre, of cast-iron.
-
-  ~Mortars.~
-
-Mortars are short pieces of ordnance, used to throw shells at high
-angles (vertical fire), generally 45°, the charge varying with the range
-required; they are distinguished by the diameters of their bores.
-Mortars are made of cast-iron or bronze; the former being principally
-intended for garrisons, battering trains, the navy, &c., and the latter,
-which are of small calibre, and very light, are chiefly employed in
-sieges.
-
-  ~Howitzers.~
-
-Howitzers resemble guns in form, but are much shorter and lighter in
-proportion to their calibre, and are, consequently, fired with less
-charges of powder; shells and case are fired from them, but not solid
-shot.
-
-  ~Use of Howitzers.~
-
-  ~Superseded by shell guns.~
-
-These pieces were originally introduced for the purpose of firing shells
-at low angles, and have constantly been found most useful both in the
-field and in siege operations during the wars of the last and present
-centuries. Since, however, the introduction of shell guns their utility
-has greatly decreased, for the shell gun possesses greater accuracy and
-range than the howitzer, those being in the present day of greater
-importance than small weight.
-
-  ~Artillery from the East.~
-
-The Germans claim the invention of cannon for their countryman,
-Bartholdus Schwartz, who is said to have discovered it in 1336, but
-seeing that fire-arms first became prevalent in Europe in those
-countries which mixed with the Saracens, we are constrained to lean to
-the opinion that fire-arms were not re-invented in Europe, but
-introduced from the East.
-
-This part of our subject might be much enlarged, but we have merely
-attempted to give heads of information, which can be pursued by those
-who desire to do so. We must now leave it, in order to treat upon that
-more immediately interesting to officers of infantry, viz., the history
-of portable fire-arms.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-The following extract from an account of the furniture of the ship,
-called the “Harry Grace de Dieu,” will give a good idea of the state of
-the ordnance at the time of Henry VIII.:--
-
-  _Gonnes of Brasse._
-
-  Cannons,
-  Di. cannons,
-  Culveryns,
-  D. culveryns,
-  Sakers,
-  Cannon perers,
-  Fawcons,
-
-  _Gonnes of Yron._
-
-  Port pecys,
-  Slyngs,
-  Di. slyngs,
-  Fowlers,
-  Baessys,
-  Toppe peces,
-  Hayle shotte pecys,
-
-  Hand gonnes complete.
-
-Another account of ancient English ordnance in Queen Elizabeth’s time,
-mentions the following:--
-
-  Bombards,
-  Bombardilles,
-  Cannon royal,
-  Cannon,
-  Cannon serpentine,
-  Bastard cannon,
-  Demi cannon,
-  Cannon petre,
-  Culverin,
-  Basilisk,
-  Demi culverin,
-  Bastard culverin,
-  Sacar,
-  Minion,
-  Faulcon,
-  Falconet,
-  Serpentine,
-  Rabinet.
-
-
-ETYMOLOGIES.
-
-CANNON.--From the Latin word _canna_, signifying a tube or cane.
-
-HOWITZER.--From the German word _haubitz_, (derived from _haube_, top of
-a furnace), in French, _obus_, or _obusier_.
-
-CARRONADE.--From _Carron Ironworks_, near Stirling, where it was
-invented in the year 1774.
-
-BOMBARD.--From the Greek word _bombos_, or noise.
-
-BOMBARDILLE.--A smaller kind of bombards.
-
-BASILISK.--The name of a snake.
-
-CULVERIN.--From the French _couleuvrine_, from _couleuvre_, a snake.
-
-SAKER.--From _Saker_, or _Sacre_, a bird of the falcon species.
-
-FALCON.--From the _bird_ of that name.
-
-CANNON PERERS.--_Stone-throwers_, from the French word _pierre_, a
-stone.
-
-TOPPE PECES.--To be used in the tops, _i.e._, the stands on the ship’s
-masts.
-
-  NOTE.--The History of Artillery is mainly compiled from the
-  following:--“Engines of War,” by Wilkinson; “Ancient Armour and
-  Weapons in Europe,” by John Hewitt; “Military Antiquities,” by F.
-  Grose; “Critical Inquiry into Ancient Armour,” by Meyrick; “Elementary
-  Lectures on Artillery,” by Major C. H. Owen and Capt. T. L. Dames,
-  R.A.; and “Our Engines of War,” by Capt. Jarvis, M.P., Royal
-  Artillery.
-
-
-
-
-HISTORY OF PORTABLE FIRE-ARMS.
-
-
-  ~Form of early hand-guns.~
-
-The earliest hand-guns differed in nothing but in size from the small
-cannon of the day: they consisted of a metal tube fixed in a straight
-stock of wood; the vent was at the top of the barrel; there was no lock
-of any kind. The barrels were short and made of iron or brass; they were
-occasionally furnished with moveable chambers. (Plate 19, fig. 1.)
-
-  ~With trunnions.~
-
-  ~Breech-loader.~
-
-A specimen of hand-cannon of the early part of the reign of Henry VI.,
-is made of iron, and furnished with trunnions, which from this specimen,
-appear to have been appropriated to small fire-arms before they were
-adopted for artillery. The breech is made of a separate piece and
-screwed on to the tube, on the further end of which is a sight. It was
-placed on a stock or club, and fired by hand with a match. (Plate 19,
-fig. 2.)
-
-  ~Invented 14th century.~
-
-That hand-guns were invented, though but rarely appearing, in the
-fourteenth century, seems very probable from several cotemporary
-evidences. An inquisition taken in 1375, at Huntercombe, (a place
-belonging to the Abbey of Dorchester) and now preserved among the
-records at the Chapterhouse, Westminster, states that one Nicholas
-Huntercombe, with others, to the number of forty men, armed with
-“haubergeons, plates, bacenettes, cum aventayles, paletes, lanceis,
-scutis, arcubus, sagittis, balistis, _et gonnes_, venerunt ad Manerium
-de Huntercombe, and there made assault,” &c. It appears very improbable
-that a body of men making a sudden attack upon an abbey manor-house,
-would be armed with any kind of “gonnes” except hand-guns.
-
-  ~Bohemia 1340.~
-
-  ~Lithuanians 1383.~
-
-Mons. Mangeot states that “canons de fusil” were said to have been first
-invented in Bohemia, 1340, but that it is safer to fix the date at 1378,
-when mention is made of the “arquebuse à mèche” in Germany. In the year
-1381, the inhabitants of Augsburg had thirty six arquebusiers, and in
-the following year they had portable fire-arms at the battle of
-Rosabecque. In 1383 the Lithuanians were acquainted with hand fire-arms,
-and used them at the siege of Froski. All these arms had straight
-stocks.
-
-In the excavations of the Castle of Tannenberg, dismantled in 1399,
-there was found a hand-gun of brass, with part of the wooden stock
-remaining, and the iron rammer belonging to it.
-
-An early mention of the hand-gun is that of Juvenal des Ursins, who
-tells us, under the year 1414, that they were used at the siege of
-Arras.
-
-  ~Siege of Lucca 1430.~
-
-  ~Said to have been invented in Italy.~
-
-Billius, a learned and noble Milanese, who lived at the time, says that
-hand-guns were first used at the siege of Lucca, in 1430. The
-Florentines were provided with artillery, which, by the force of
-gunpowder, discharged large stones, but the Luccquese perceiving that
-they did very little execution, came at last to despise them, and every
-day renewed their sallies to the great slaughter of their enemies, by
-the help of _small fire-arms_, to which the Florentines were strangers,
-and which before this time were not known in Italy. Billius explains
-this by saying, “That besides darts and balistas for arrows, they
-invented a new kind of weapon. They carried in their hand a club, a
-cubit and a half long, to which were affixed iron barrels. These they
-filled with sulphur and nitre, and by the power of fire, iron balls were
-thus ejected.” (Plate 19, fig. 1 and 10).
-
-  ~Scorpion.~
-
-About this time the scorpion (afterwards a piece of ordnance) was a tube
-for firing gunpowder, held in the hand, and called by the English,
-hand-cannon, and also hand-culverines.
-
-  ~Made of brass.~
-
-From a roll of purchases for Holy Island 1446 is,--“bought 11 hand
-gunnes de ere,” from whence we learn that they were made of brass.
-
-  ~Edward IV.~
-
-  ~Harquebus invented.~
-
-  ~Stock, &c., from cross-bow.~
-
-  ~Match-lock. 1478.~
-
-Hand-guns, or hand-cannons were used in the early part of the reign of
-Edward IV., and towards the close of it, we learn from Philip de
-Comines, that the harquebus was invented; this seems to have been an
-improvement on the hand-gun. The Latin word used for this weapon was
-arcusbusus, evidently derived from the Italian, arca-bouza, a bow with a
-tube or hole; to that people, therefore, are we to ascribe the
-application of the stock and trigger in imitation of the cross-bow.
-Hitherto the match had been applied by the hand to the touch-hole, but
-the trigger of the arbalest suggested the idea of one to catch into a
-cock, which having a slit in it, might hold the match, and by the motion
-of the trigger be brought down on a pan which held the priming, the
-touch-hole being no longer at the top but at the side. (Plate 19, fig.
-9).
-
-  ~Hand-gun improvements.~
-
-  ~Sighted.~
-
-The hand-gun was _cast_ in brass, and, as a tube, was of greater length
-than the hand cannon; a flat piece of brass, made to turn upon a pin,
-covered the pan which contained the powder; it had also a piece of brass
-fixed on the breech, and perforated to ensure the aim.
-
-  ~Hand-guns in England 1471.~
-
-  ~Made in England, 1474.~
-
-The first introduction of hand-guns into England, we find, was soon
-after their invention in Italy; in the year 1471, King Edward IV.,
-landed at Ravenspurg, in Yorkshire, and brought with him, among other
-forces, three hundred Flemings, armed with “hange-gunnes.” In 1474, he
-directed “all the bombs, cannon, culverines, fowlers, surpentines, and
-all other cannon whatsoever, as also powder, sulphur, saltpetre, stones,
-iron, lead and other materials, fit and necessary for the same cannon,
-wherever found, to be taken and provided for his use, paying a
-reasonable price for the same.”
-
-  ~Harquebusiers.~
-
-  ~Morat 1476.~
-
-Arquebusiers, or harquebusiers, are mentioned as troops, by Philip de
-Comines, in these words, where he speaks of the battle of Morat, fought
-on the 22nd of June, 1476. “The said towns had in their army, as some
-that were in the battle informed me, 35,000 men, whereof fower thousand
-were horsemen, the rest footmen, well chosen and well armed, that is to
-say, 10,000 pikes, 10,000 halberds, and 10,000 harquebusiers.”
-
-  ~Improvements.~
-
-  ~Held to breast.~
-
-  ~Bent butt.~
-
-  ~Hackbutt.~
-
-Hitherto the harquebuss had only a straight stock, but now it had a wide
-butt end, which might be placed against the right breast, and thus held
-more steadily. Many ancient pieces were held to the breast instead of
-the shoulder, which will account for their being so short in the stock.
-A notch was made in the butt for the thumb of the right hand, in order
-to hold the piece more firmly. When the butt was bent down or hooked as
-it was at a later period, it was called, from the German word Hake, a
-hackbutt, haggebut or hagbut, the small sort being denominated
-demi-hags.
-
-  ~Mounted Harquebussiers.~
-
-Philip de Commines mentions that there were at the battle of Fourniée,
-in 1495, German harquebusiers, on foot and on horseback. (Plate 19, fig.
-6.)
-
-  ~Arms in time of Henry VIII.~
-
-The small arms in the time of Henry VIII., were hand-guns, haguebuts,
-demi-hagues and the pistol, and it was enacted, “that no hand-gun should
-be used, of less than one yard, gun and stock included, and the haguebut
-was not to be under three-quarters of a yard.” The demi-hagues were
-still smaller, and gave occasion for the origin of pistols, which were
-invented in the latter part of this reign, at Pistoria in Tuscany. The
-dag, dagger, or tache, differed from the pistol merely in the shape of
-its handle.
-
-  ~Inconveniences of match.~
-
-  ~Objections to fire-arms.~
-
-  ~Rest.~
-
-  ~Wheel-lock, 1517.~
-
-  ~Used at Parma, 1521.~
-
-  ~In England, 1530.~
-
-  ~Serpentine and wheel.~
-
-The match was a constant source of trouble to the soldier, both from the
-difficulty of keeping it alight in bad weather, and from the length of
-time it sometimes took to ignite the charge. It was therefore not
-without justice that many persons clamoured about this time against the
-introduction of fire-arms. They contended that upon no point, save that
-of penetration, was the harquebuss superior or equal to the long-bow;
-its great weight 16 or 18lbs. (seldom less than 12lbs.) obliged it to be
-supported by a rest, which had a kind of fork to receive the musket, and
-at the bottom a sharp metal spike, to strike into the ground; (Plate 19,
-fig. 5, 7, and 8). When the harquebuss was shouldered the rest was
-carried in the right hand, and subsequently hung upon it, by means of a
-string or loop. The difficulty of keeping the powder and match dry, the
-time taken to load, and its comparative inaccuracy, rendered it of low
-reputation. Nevertheless it held its ground, and the next improvement
-was the wheel-lock, by which a more instantaneous ignition of the charge
-was secured; it was invented at Nuremberg, 1517. It consisted of a
-little solid wheel of steel, fixed against the plate of the lock of the
-harquebuss or pistol; it had an axis that pierced it in its centre; at
-the interior end of this axis which went into the lock, a chain was
-fastened, which twisted round it on the wheel being turned, and bent the
-spring by which it was held; to bend this spring a key was made use of,
-into which the exterior end of the axis was inserted. By turning this
-key from left to right, the wheel was made to revolve, and by this
-movement a little slider of copper, which covered the pan with the
-priming, retired from over it; and by the same movement the cock, armed
-with a flint like the cock of a fusil, was in a state to be discharged
-on pulling the trigger with the finger; the cock then falling on the
-wheel, produced fire, and communicated it to the priming. The wheel-lock
-was first used at the siege of Parma, 1521, and was brought to England
-1530. It was however complicated and difficult to repair, for which
-reason it could not always be depended upon, as is proved by some
-fire-arms of this description at the Tower, which are made with a
-serpentine, as well as with a wheel, both acted upon by the same
-trigger.
-
-  ~Musket in Spain.~
-
-  ~At Pavia, 1525.~
-
-  ~Low Countries, 1567.~
-
-The inconsiderable execution done by pieces of small calibre probably
-caused the introduction of the muskets or mosquet, which originated in
-Spain about the time of Francis I. They are said to have been first
-employed extensively at the battle of Pavia, 1525; but, if we believe
-Brantome, it was the Duke d’Alva who first brought them into use in the
-armies, when during the reign of Philip II., he went to take upon him
-the government of the Low Countries in the year 1567; but that only
-means, he brought them more into fashion than they were till that time,
-and that till then they were rarely used, at least in the field, on
-account of their cumbrous nature. A Spanish army of 10,000 men sailed
-from Carthagena, 27th April, 1567, _en route_ for the Netherlands, to do
-which they had to cross the Alps. It was a picked body of troops, of
-whom about 1,300 were cavalry. The Duke d’Alva formed them into three
-divisions, and dispensed with artillery, not wishing to embarrass his
-movements. Each company of foot was flanked by a body of soldiers,
-carrying heavy muskets with rests attached to them.
-
-  ~Lephanto, 1571.~
-
-At the battle of Lephanto 1571, fought between the Venetians and Turks,
-it is stated by the historian, that one chief reason why so few
-Christians were killed in comparison, was because the Turks used for the
-most part bows and arrows, whereas the former were supplied with
-muskets.
-
-  ~Caliver.~
-
-A lighter kind of musket was called a caliver or calliver, which was
-only a corruption of calibre, denoting that they were all of one guage,
-as the original harquebuses were not of any particular length or bore;
-the caliver was fired without a rest.
-
-  ~Dimensions, 1621.~
-
-Sir Thomas Kellie in his “Art Militaire,” published in 1621, says, “The
-barrel of a musket should be four feet in length, the bore capable of
-receiving bullets twelve whereof weigh a pound, previous to this some
-had carried ten to the pound.”
-
-  ~Hand-mortar, 1594.~
-
-  ~From butt of musket.~
-
-  ~By hand.~
-
-  ~From muzzle.~
-
-The hand-mortar for throwing grenades are said to have been first used
-in 1594, and gave origin at a later date to the troops thence
-denominated, _grenadiers_. They appear to have been fired from the
-shoulder. (Plate 19, fig. 3.) In the reign of James II., a
-flint-lock-musket was adapted to fire grenades from the butt, the small
-of which was made to resemble a chambered mortar; the heel of the butt
-formed a cover, which opened with a spring on a hinge; the priming was
-put into the usual pan, and a small piece of metal moved so as to open a
-communication with the powder in the chamber. A rest was formed by a
-slender iron rod, about three feet long, and when not required let into
-the stock, in the place usually occupied by the ramrod, and turning upon
-a pivot placed a few inches in front of the guard-brass. The scouring
-rod is run through metal loops on one side of the stock. Afterwards
-grenades were thrown by hand, the musket being slung over the soldier’s
-back, and more recently experiments were made with an iron tube about
-four inches long, placed on the muzzle in the same manner as the
-bayonets.
-
-  ~Match-locks and rest, James I.~
-
-In the time of James I., part of the infantry were armed with calivers
-or muskets and rests, both of which were fired with match-locks, the
-soldier carrying the match lighted at both ends.
-
-  ~Trickerlock, 1629.~
-
-“A match trickerlock compleat,” occurs in a schedule of 1629. This was
-the adoption of what is now called a hair trigger, which was added to
-the former one, and gives a more instantaneous discharge. A tricker
-wheel lock of Charles I., a tricker match-lock of Charles II., and a
-tricker fire-lock of James II., are preserved in Sir S. Meyrick’s
-collection.
-
-  ~Fowling pieces.~
-
-The Earl of Albermarle in 1646, says, “It is very fit likewise that you
-have in each company six good fowling pieces, of such a length that the
-soldier may well be able to take aim and shoot off at ease; being placed
-six on each flank of a division of foot to skirmish with an enemy. These
-soldiers ought to have command, when they come within distance, that
-they shoot at officers only.” We have here plainly the origin of
-riflemen.
-
-  ~Tin tube for match.~
-
-  ~First fire-lock.~
-
-Each musketeer formerly carried a tin tube, pierced full of holes, to
-contain the match, and prevent his being discovered; in wet weather it
-was necessary to carry it in the crown of his cap, to prevent it from
-being extinguished. One of the earliest attempts to overcome this
-difficulty is in the Arsenal, at Dresden, where there is an old
-_buchse_, with a piece of pyrites fixed opposite to the touch-hole, and
-which requires to be rubbed with a file, chained to it, until sparks are
-elicited sufficient to fire the powder.
-
-  ~Snaphaunce.~
-
-The next improvement upon the wheel-lock was the snaphaunce; a flat
-piece of steel, furrowed in imitation of the wheel, was placed on a
-steel post, which being screwed beyond the pan, was made moveable; the
-pan had a cover which required to be pushed off by the thumb, and the
-furrowed piece being then brought to stand over it, on pulling the
-trigger, the flint, which was substituted for pyrites, struck against
-it, and gave the spark.
-
-  ~Flint lock.~
-
-The next step in the improvement of the musket was the introduction of
-the flint-lock, now so well known, that I need not enter into the
-details of its mechanism.
-
-  ~In France, 1630.~
-
-  ~In England, 1677.~
-
-  ~Earl Orrery’s opinion.~
-
-It was used in France as early as 1630, but was not employed in the army
-until 1670 or 80, when it took the name of “fusil.” It was not employed
-in England until about 1677, and its advantages over the matchlock are
-thus described in a work addressed to King Charles II., in 1677, by the
-Earl of Orrery:--“First it is exceedingly more ready, for with the
-fire-lock you have only to cock, and you are prepared to shoot, but with
-the matchlock, you have several motions, besides if you fire not the
-matchlock as soon as you have blown your match, (which often,
-particularly in hedgefights and sieges, you cannot do) you must a second
-time blow your match. The match is very dangerous, either when
-bandoliers are used, or when soldiers run hastily in fight to the budge
-barrel, to refill their bandoliers. I have often seen sad instances
-thereof. Marching in the nights to avoid an enemy or to surprise one, or
-to assault a fortress, the matches often discover you, whereby you
-suffer much, and he obtains much. In wet weather, the rain deads the
-powder and the match too, and the wind sometimes blows away the powder,
-ere the match can touch the pan; nay, in very high winds, I have seen
-the sparks blown from the match, fire the musket ere the soldier meant
-it, and either thereby lose his shot, or kill some one before him.
-Whereas in the firelock, the motion is so sudden, that what makes the
-cock fall on the hammer, strikes the fire and opens the pan at once.
-Lastly, the quantity of match does much add to the baggage, it naturally
-draws the moisture of the air, which makes it less fit, and if you march
-without close waggons, it is the more exposed, and without being dried
-again in ovens is but of half the use which otherwise it would be of,
-and which is full as bad as the skeans you give the corporals, and the
-sinks you give the private soldiers, being rendered useless if damp;
-nothing of all which can be said of the flint, but much of it to the
-contrary.”
-
-  ~Bows to be replaced by muskets, 1596.~
-
-In a proclamation of Queen Elizabeth dated 1596, it is stated, “You
-shall bring with you all such furniture and weapon for footmen as you
-stand charged withall by statute, or have formerly shewed at other
-musters heretofore, changinge your billes into pikes, and your bowes
-into muskettes accordinge to our sayde former letters.”
-
-  ~Muskets with two locks.~
-
-  ~Match-lock preferred.~
-
-  ~Match made of.~
-
-In France, as late as 1702, when the flint had wholly superseded the
-pyrites, and the structure differed very little from our present
-musket-locks, an additional cock was attached to the end of the
-lock-plate, and a sliding cover placed over a hole in the hammer-seat,
-for the purpose of lighting the powder by a match, if the flint failed.
-The match was therefore from its simplicity, preferred from all others
-for a considerable period, and is still used by the Chinese, Tartars,
-Persians, and Turks, in some provinces either wholly, or partially. The
-match itself was made of cotton or hemp, spun slack, and boiled in a
-strong solution of saltpetre, or in the lees of wine.
-
-  ~Iron ramrod 1740.~
-
-In the time of Frederick the Great, (1740 to 1786), the invention of the
-iron ramrod by the Prince of Dessau, trifling matter as it seems,
-doubled the value of the fire of infantry. Prior to this the rammer had
-been made of wood, and was called the scouring stick.
-
-  ~Dimensions, &c. of English musket, in 1800.~
-
-  ~Charge.~
-
-  ~Priming, 1st. mode.~
-
-  ~Priming, 2nd mode.~
-
-At the commencement of this (19th) century, the weight of the English
-musket and bayonet was, 11lbs. 4ozs., bayonet 1lb. 2ozs., length of
-barrel 3ft. 3-in., bore ·753-in., bullets 14¹⁄₂ to the pound. Charges of
-powder 6 drs., F.G. Every soldier was furnished with three flints for 60
-rounds. Originally it had been necessary to put the priming into the pan
-from a flask, containing a finer grained powder, called “Serpentine
-powder,” but in the early flint-lock musket this was rendered
-unnecessary, as in loading, a portion of the charge passed through the
-communication hole into the pan, where it was prevented from escaping by
-the hammer. Latterly a portion of the cartridge was bitten off, and the
-pan filled with priming before loading.
-
-  ~Objections to flint-lock.~
-
-  ~Priming by detonation, 1807.~
-
-  ~Experiments, 1834.~
-
-  ~Advantages of percussion.~
-
-  ~Reduced charge.~
-
-  ~Reduced pull of trigger.~
-
-The objections to the flint-lock were, that it did not entirely preserve
-the priming from wet. Sometimes the flint failed to ignite the charge,
-and it was necessary to change it frequently. Owing to these
-imperfections, in 1807, the Rev. Mr. Forsyth obtained a patent for
-priming with fulminating powder. The composition consisted of sulphate
-of potash, sulphur, and charcoal, and exploded when struck by any metal
-or hard substance. This composition was considered too corrosive, but
-was subsequently improved, and finally applied to the musket, in the
-form of the present percussion cap, which consists of chlorate of
-potash, three parts; fulminating mercury two parts; and ground glass one
-part. The experiments for Mr. Forsyth’s invention, commenced in 1834.
-Six thousand rounds were fired from each description of arm, and the
-experiments conducted in all weathers, six of each kind of arm being
-used. The result proved exceedingly favourable to the percussion
-principle, and may be briefly summed up as follows:--1st, out of 6,000
-rounds from the flint-lock, there were 922 missfires, being 1 in 6¹⁄₂,
-whereas in the percussion musket there were only 36 misses in 6,000
-rounds, or 1 in 166. With the flint-lock there were 3,680 hits out of
-the 6,000, and with the percussion 4,047 hits, being 7 per cent. in
-favour of the latter. To fire 100 rounds with the flint required 32
-minutes 31 seconds, whereas the percussion occupied only 30 minutes 24
-seconds. Another advantage of the percussion musket, was that it was
-capped _after_ being loaded. Hitherto a certain amount of powder had
-been allowed for priming, but as this vestige of the hand-gun could be
-dispensed with, a reduction of charge could be made; a total reduction
-however was made from 6 to 4¹⁄₂ drs., which caused a diminution of
-recoil. The 4¹⁄₂ drs. then recommended was known to be more than was
-necessary for the projection of the bullet, but an extra ¹⁄₂ dr. was
-retained to allow for the effect of damp or waste on service. In the
-course of these experiments, it was found that the considerable force
-required to pull the trigger might be advantageously reduced, and that
-increased accuracy would ensue, therefore the pull of the trigger was
-lessened to 7lbs.
-
-  ~New model musket.~
-
-The advantages of the percussion system having been satisfactorily
-shown, it was decided to convert a portion of the old flint-locks into
-percussions, and to establish a new model percussion musket for the
-English army.
-
-  ~Percussion at Canton.~
-
-The following anecdote illustrates the weak points of the flint-lock.
-During the Chinese war, a company of the 37th Madras Native Infantry had
-been detached to the left, when, the evening closing, the order was
-given to rejoin, and the whole were to retire upon Canton, and just as
-it was being carried into execution, a tremendous storm of wind and rain
-arose, making the air so dark, that no one could see 20 yards. The
-detached company retired sounding bugles and beating drums, which were
-drowned by the tempest, and they could not find the battalion. In a few
-minutes the enemy got between this company and the retreating force. The
-muskets would not go off, and several attempts of the enemy to close
-were with difficulty repulsed with the bayonet. In the meantime, the
-enemy contrived to fire off their own matchlocks, and some of the
-sepoys’ muskets of men who had dropped in the retreat, by applying
-matches to them. The square into which the company was formed, was thus
-being diminished, while the only return that could be made, was an
-occasional shot from a solitary musket, which the three officers of the
-company managed to clean out, under cover of great coats held over the
-muzzle. A company of Marines was dispatched for the 37th party, armed
-with percussion muskets, scarcely one of which missed at the first fire,
-and a few volleys sufficed to clear the way, and both detachments
-reached the camp in safety, with but little loss. This happened in the
-early part of 1841.
-
-  ~Percussion introduced, 1842.~
-
-  ~Sighted for 150 yards.~
-
-After a “hang-fire” of about 200 years, a new pattern percussion musket
-was issued in 1842. Its weight was greater than that of the old
-flint-lock, being with the bayonet about 11-lbs., 6-oz., bayonet 1-lb.,
-0-oz., 8-drs., bore ·753, barrel 3-ft. 3-in., length, with bayonet 6
-feet, length without 4-ft. 6³⁄₄-in., a block sight for 150 yards, and a
-percussion lock. For many years prior to 1839 no sight at all was
-thought necessary for the musket, the bayonet stud being sufficient, but
-which was totally obscured when fired with fixed bayonets. This arm
-continued as the approved weapon for our infantry without improvement
-until 1851, when the Minié rifle was partially introduced.
-
-  ~Comparison with foreign muskets.~
-
-  ~Brown Bess advocated.~
-
-The English musket (1842) differed from all those in use on the
-Continent, in having, 1st, the least accuracy, 2nd, reduced range, 3rd,
-heavier, 4th, shorter, 5th, larger bore, 6th, greater windage, 7th,
-double the charge of powder, 8th, the greatest recoil, and 9th, the most
-expensive! _i. e._, as compared with those of France and Belgium,
-Prussia, Austria, or even with the old Sikh matchlock!! And yet a “stand
-up fight” was stoutly maintained for this most inefficient arm, by many
-military men, as may be seen from the following extract from a note in
-Part II., Vol. II., of the “Aide Memoire to the military
-sciences:”--“Erroneous ideas prevail as to the precise wants of the
-service with regard to the musket, and its proper qualities and utility
-in the field, as well as much exaggeration as to the defects of the new
-percussion musket of 1842, for the infantry of the line. It is stated
-that it is too heavy and of imperfect construction. Some prefer the
-French pattern, and others would lessen the weight and calibre still
-more, reducing also the windage: as, however, the new regulation has
-brought into use some hundreds of thousands of new muskets, and has been
-approved by the highest authorities, some considerations are necessary
-before a radical change can be effected beyond range and a nice accuracy
-of fire. 1st, What are the essentials for a musket for the infantry of
-the line? 2nd, The application of the musket to the infantry soldier. It
-is evident that the most essential points are strength, and facility of
-pouring into your enemies’ ranks a powerful fire. Troops do not halt to
-play at long bowls; a field of battle presents a series of movements for
-the purpose of outflanking or closing in upon your enemy, and when
-within two hundred yards, to deliver your fire with effect. Firing at
-500 or 600 yards is the business of artillery, and, therefore, to fire
-at 300 or 400 yards is a misapplication of the musket, a loss of time, a
-waste of ammunition, and tends to make men unsteady in the ranks.”
-
-  ~Brown Bess tried at Chatham.~
-
-  ~Merits of “Brown Bess” illustrated.~
-
-The shooting powers of the musket (1842) are stated in the report on
-Experimental Musketry firing carried on by Captain (now Lieut.-Colonel)
-McKerlie, Royal Engineers, at Chatham, in 1846, which concludes as
-follows: “It appears by these experiments, that as a general rule,
-musketry fire should never be opened beyond 150 yards, and certainly not
-exceeding 200 yards. At this distance, half the number of shots missed a
-target 11-ft. 6-in., and at 150 yards a very large proportion also
-missed. At 75 and 100 yards every shot struck the target, only 2-ft.
-wide, and had the deviation increased simply as the distance every shot
-ought to have struck the target 6-ft. wide at 200 yards, instead of
-this, however, some were observed to pass several yards to the right and
-left, some to fall 30 yards short, and others to pass as much beyond,
-and this deviation increased in a still greater degree as the range
-increased. It is only then under peculiar circumstances, such as when it
-may be desirable to bring a fire on Field Artillery when there are no
-other means of replying to it, that it ought ever to be thought of
-using the musket at such distances as 400 yards.” In fact, it has been
-stated that the probability of hitting one man with a musket ball at 500
-yards would be as one farthing to the National Debt! On a recent
-occasion, at the Cape, 80,000 rounds were fired to kill 25 men!! To put
-a man “_hors de combat_” requires his weight in lead, and six times his
-weight in iron!!!
-
-  ~Price.~
-
-  ~Fastened by bands.~
-
-  ~Bands unsightly!!~
-
-  ~Supposed profit of large bore.~
-
-Our musket cost £3, the French and Belgian £1 8s. 6¹⁄₂d. In foreign arms
-the barrel is fastened to the stock by bands, binding the two together,
-and thus adding greatly to their strength. This mode, although
-acknowledged to be infinitely superior for military purposes, by our
-Inspector of small arms, was condemned as unsightly!! The French musket,
-although three inches longer, is beautifully poised, being lightened
-forward. Our bore being larger was considered an advantage, as their
-balls could be fired out of our barrels, while our balls could not out
-of their muskets. It was generally thought that the greater weight of
-the English ball produced an increased range and momentum, but this was
-counteracted by the excess of windage.
-
-       *       *       *       *       *
-
-  ~Various forms of early fire-arms.~
-
-In former days small arms were made of various shapes and devices, and
-also combined with other weapons of attack and defence.
-
-There is in the arsenal at Venice a matchlock containing twenty barrels,
-ten gun barrels, about 2¹⁄₂ feet long, and ten pistol barrels half that
-length. The match exploded a gun and pistol barrel together.
-
-The Chinese of the present day make use of a species of matchlock
-revolvers, and also of another matchlock, consisting of several barrels,
-placed on a common stock, diverging from each other, and fired
-simultaneously. (Plate 4, fig. 4 and 5.)
-
-  ~Shield fire-arms.~
-
-  ~Breech-loaders.~
-
-Soon after the invention of fire-arms, the boss, or spike, issuing from
-the centre of the targets or shields, was superseded by one or more
-short barrels, fired by a matchlock, and having an aperture covered with
-a grating above, for the purpose of taking aim. These barrels were
-loaded at the breech, the charge being put into an iron tube, or short
-barrel, which was pushed in at the end, and retained there by shutting
-down a lid or spring.
-
-  ~Cross-bow and pistol united.~
-
-There were cross-bows, which combined a pistol and cross-bow, the
-wheel-lock being placed about the centre of the handle on one side,
-whilst on the other was the string of the bow, and the windlass for
-drawing it up.
-
-  ~Pike and pistol.~
-
-Pistols were frequently introduced into the butt-end of pikes, and also,
-in the reign of Edward VI., in the handle of the battle-axe, the spiked
-club, the martlet, and other weapons, even the dagger.
-
-  ~Carabines with joint.~
-
-  ~Heel plate to draw out.~
-
-In the time of Charles I. there were esclopette carbines, made with the
-butt to double back on a hinge, in order to get them into a holster; and
-a little later the butt was lengthened by drawing out the steel cap
-which formed its cover, now called heel plate.
-
-  ~Revolvers in Charles I.~
-
-  ~Double-barrelled pistols.~
-
-In the reign of Charles I. there were also revolvers, with eight
-chambers to hold the charges; and in the time of Cromwell and Charles
-II. we find self-loading and self-priming guns. Pistols were made both
-double-barrelled and revolving.
-
-  ~Arrows fired out of muskets, 1591.~
-
-In Sir Richard Hawkins’ account of his voyage in the South Sea, 1591,
-mention is made of his shooting arrows from muskets with great success
-at shipping: “for the upper works of their ships being musket proof,
-they passed through both sides with facilitie, and wrought extraordinary
-disasters, which caused admiration to see themselves wounded with small
-shot when they thought themselves secure.” These wooden arrows were
-called sprites or sprightes. Lord Verulam says, “it is certain that we
-had in use at one time for sea fight short arrows which they call
-sprights, without any other head save wood sharpened, which were
-discharged out of muskets, and would pierce through the sides of ships,
-when a bullet would not pierce.”
-
-  ~Sprites required wads.~
-
-Sir Richard Hawkins informs us, that in a discourse which he held with
-the Spanish General, Michael Angell, the latter demanded, “for what
-purpose served the little short arrowes which we had in our shippe, and
-those in great quantity. I satisfied him that they were for our muskets.
-Hereof they prooved to profit themselves after; but for that they wanted
-the tampkins, which are first to be driven home, before the arrow be put
-in, and as they understood not the secret, they rejected them as
-uncertaine, and therefore not to be used; but of all the shot used now
-adayes, for the annoying of an ennemie in fight by sea, few are of
-greater moment for many respects, which I hold not convenient to treat
-of in public.”
-
-Thus it appears that bullets of metal, have been fired out of bows and
-slings, stone balls out of guns, and arrows from muskets.
-
-The following are the names of different descriptions of small arms,
-viz:--
-
-  Hand-cannon
-  Hand-gun
-  Arquebus
-  Caliver
-  Petronel
-  Scorpion
-  Dragon
-  Musketoon
-  Hague
-  Demi-hague
-  Esclopette
-  Currier
-  Fusil
-  Hand-mortar
-  Blunderbuss
-  Musket
-  Pistol
-  Dag
-  Tack
-
-
-
-
-THE BAYONET.
-
-
-  ~Pointed stake.~
-
-It was common with archers to place a long pointed stake in the ground
-to protect themselves against cavalry. On the arquebus replacing the bow
-the same practice was continued.
-
-  ~Pike.~
-
-From the earliest ages it had been customary to arm some of the infantry
-with pikes, and in the middle ages when cavalry was so much employed in
-armies, it was found impossible to dispense with this weapon; for some
-time after the introduction of fire-arms, only a portion of the infantry
-were armed with them, and the remainder were pikemen. The proportion of
-each varied at different times, from one half to two thirds, but as the
-proportion of musketeers increased it became necessary to contrive some
-method, by which they could defend themselves.
-
-  ~_Marlets-de-fer_ with touch.~
-
-  ~Rest, with touch.~
-
-  ~Swines’ feathers.~
-
-In the latter part of the reign of James I., some attempts were made to
-convert the musketeer’s rest into a defence against cavalry.
-_Marlets-de-fer_ and small pole-axes had a touch enclosed in them, which
-by touching a spring opened a small valve and sprung out. The musket
-rest, instead of having a wooden shaft, was now made of a thin tube of
-iron, like these pole-axes covered with leather, and armed with the
-touch. Rests thus armed were said to contain Swedish or Swines’
-feathers. It was found however that the musketeer could not do his duty
-when armed with musket, sword, and rest, (especially if he had a Swedish
-feather to manage with them) which led to the abandonment of the rest
-during the Protectorate.
-
-  ~Sword stuck in muzzle.~
-
-  ~Bayonets in France, 1671.~
-
-To remedy the inconvenience of a Musketeer being compelled to draw his
-sword and defend himself after the discharge of his piece, and to render
-him more competent to act against the pikemen, a long thin rapier blade
-fixed into a handle, and carried in a sheath called a Swine’s feather,
-was drawn out of its scabbard, and fixed into the muzzle of his gun,
-which gave him a weapon of great length. (Plate 19, fig. 11.). And this
-dagger or sword, stuck into the muzzle of the gun, gave origin to the
-bayonet, which was first made at Bayonne, and introduced into the French
-army in 1671.
-
-  ~Swords discontinued, 1745.~
-
-  ~Improved bayonet.~
-
-  ~Bayonet in Flanders, William III.~
-
-  ~Bayonet at Killicrankie.~
-
-Swords in general were left off in the battalion companies ever since
-the year 1745, and about 1762 by the grenadiers. As a still further
-improvement the bayonet was made to fit on to the side of the barrel, so
-as to leave it clear. An early application of the improved bayonet took
-place in the campaigns of William III., in Flanders. Three French
-regiments thus armed, marched with fixed bayonets, and one of them
-against the 25th regiment. Lieut-Colonel Maxwell ordered his men to
-screw their bayonets into their muzzles to receive them; but to his
-great surprise when they came within the proper distance, the French
-threw in such a heavy fire, as for the moment to stagger his people, who
-by no means expected such a greeting, not conscious how it was possible
-to fire with fixed bayonets. Macaulay in the 3rd volume of his History,
-states “That at the battle of Killicrankie, the King’s army being drawn
-up in position, the Highlanders advanced to the attack, and immediately
-after having delivered their fire, threw away their muskets and rushed
-on to the charge with Claymores. It took the regular musketeer two or
-three minutes to alter his missile weapon into one with which he could
-encounter an enemy hand to hand, and during this time the battle of
-Killicrankie had been decided.” Mackay therefore ordered all his
-bayonets to be so made that they might be screwed upon the barrel.
-
-  ~Bayonets, Marsaglia, 1693, and Spiers, 1703.~
-
-  ~Pike abolished, 1703.~
-
-  ~Earl Orrery in favour of pike versus musket, 1677.~
-
-Bayonets were employed by Marshal Catinat at the battle of Marsaglia,
-when the slaughter was immense. Also at the battle of Spiers, in 1703.
-Thus improved, the bayonet came into general use, and the pike was
-abolished in France by Royal Ordinance 1703, with the advice of Marshal
-Vauban. Before the introduction of the improved bayonet, Lord Orrery, in
-1677, thus speaks in favour of the pike:--“But what need I more say of
-the usefulness of the pike above the musket, than that all persons of
-quality carry the pike which they would not do unless it had adjudgedly
-the honour to be the noblest weapon, since the bravest choose and fight
-with it. I wish our companies consisted of fewer shots and more pikes,
-for they are not only always in readiness but need no ammunition, which
-cannot be said of the musket which requires powder, bullet, and match,
-and in wet or windy weather often disappoints the service.”
-
-  ~M. Mallet, pike versus musket, 1684.~
-
-Mons. Mallet in his “Travaux de Mars,” speaks lightly of the
-“mousquetaires,” without pikemen; he says, “A horse wounded by a
-fire-arm is only more animated, but when he finds himself pierced by a
-pike, all the spurs in the world will not make him advance.”
-
-  ~Gen. Loyd, pike versus bayonet, 1766.~
-
-  ~Pike recently discontinued.~
-
-Even so recently as about ninety-two years ago, and ninety-five years
-after the introduction of the improved bayonet, General Loyd in his
-history of the war in Germany, recommends the abandonment of the system
-of arming the whole of the infantry with fire-arms, “which he says are
-useful only in _defensive_ warfare, and even then not more than one shot
-in four hundred takes effect.” For many years after pikes were
-discontinued by our infantry, the officers carried a short one, and the
-sergeants only gave up their halberts within the last thirty years. The
-soldiers of artillery when in Holland under the late Duke of York,
-carried short pikes for the defence of their field guns.
-
-
-
-
-ACCOUTREMENTS AND AMMUNITION.
-
-
-  ~Armament of infantry soldier.~
-
-  ~Bandolier.~
-
-  ~Bandolier abandoned in France, 1684.~
-
-  ~Flask resumed.~
-
-  ~Patrons.~
-
-  ~Cartridges.~
-
-Besides his matchlock, the soldier carried a powder horn or flask, a
-ball bag, slow match, a rest, and a sword. The two last changed for a
-bayonet. In order to accelerate the loading, a large leather belt,
-called bandolier, was worn over the shoulder. To this were hung twelve
-wooden cases, each of which contained one charge, with a case of finer
-powder for priming, and at the lower end a bag for balls. This system
-was soon found to be inconvenient, as the cases were apt to get
-entangled in passing through woods, &c. It was therefore abandoned in
-France in 1684, and the flask resumed. Sir James Turner, speaking of the
-pistol, says, “All horsemen should always have the charges of their
-pistols ready in patrons, the powder made up compactly in paper, and the
-ball tied to it with a piece of pack thread.” In this description we
-have evidently the cartridge, though not expressed by name. It is a
-curious fact that these were first confined to the cavalry, and that the
-general adoption of the cartridge was not earlier than the common use of
-the modern firelock. The Patron was an upright semi-cylindrical box of
-steel, with a cover moving on a hinge, filled with a block of wood with
-five perforations, to hold as many pistol cartridges.
-
-  ~Earl of Orrery in favour of pouches.~
-
-The Earl of Orrery, in 1677, writes, “I am, on long experience, an enemy
-to bandoliers, but a great approver of boxes of cartridges for them, as
-by biting off the bottom of the cartridge, you charge your musket for
-service with one ramming. I would have these boxes of tin, because they
-are not so apt to break as the wooden ones are, and do not, in wet
-weather, or lying in the tents, relax. Besides, I have often seen much
-prejudice in the use of bandoliers, which are often apt to take fire.
-They commonly wound, and often kill he that wears them, and those near
-him, for likely if one take fire, all the rest do in that collar. They
-often tangle when they have fired, and are falling off by the flanks of
-the files of the intervals to get into the rear to load again. Their
-rattling in the night often discovers the designs; and if the weather be
-windy, their rattling also often hinders the soldier from hearing, and,
-consequently, obeying the word of command. Whereas the cartridge boxes
-exempt those who use them from all these dangers and prejudices. They
-enable the soldier to fire more expeditiously. They are also usually
-worn about the waist of the soldier, the skirts of whose doublet and
-whose coat doubly defend them from all rain, that does not pierce both,
-and being worn close to his body, the heat thereof keeps the powder
-dryer. Besides all this, whoever loads his musket with cartridges, is
-sure the bullet will not drop out, though he takes his aim under breast
-high; whereas those soldiers on service who take the bullets out of
-their mouths, which is the nimblest way, or out of their pouches, seldom
-put any paper, tow, or grass, to ram the bullet in, whereby if they fire
-above breast high the bullet passes over the head of the enemy, and if
-they aim low the bullet drops out, ere the musket is fired, and it is to
-this that I attribute the little execution I have seen musketeers do in
-time of fight, though they fired at great battalions, and those also
-reasonably near.”
-
-  The preceding article on Portable Fire-Arms is principally compiled
-  from “Military Antiquities,” by Francis Grose; “Ancient Armour and
-  Weapons of War,” by John Hewitt; “Engraved Illustrations of Ancient
-  Armour,” by Joseph Skelton, F.S.A.; “A Critical Enquiry into Ancient
-  Armour,” by Sir R. S. Meyrick, Knt.; and “Deane’s Manual of
-  Fire-arms.”
-
-
-
-
-HISTORY OF THE RIFLE.
-
-
-  ~Invention of the rifle.~
-
-We shall now direct our attention to the rifle,--its invention is
-ascribed to Gaspard Zollner, of Vienna, towards the end of the fifteenth
-century.
-
-  ~1466.~
-
-The first society for firing with the arquebuss was founded at Bâle, in
-Switzerland.
-
-  ~Rifles at Leipsic, 1498.~
-
-In the practice of firing at a mark, at Leipsic, 1498, the greater part
-of the Sharpshooters or Marksmen, were armed with the Rifles.
-
-  ~Rifles used first for amusement.~
-
-At first, Rifle arms were used only for amusement, and sometimes for the
-defence of places, but very rarely as weapons of war in the field.
-
-  ~Rifles used in war.~
-
-Their employment in a campaign only dates from a little before the
-middle of the seventeenth century.
-
-  ~Landgrave of Hesse, 1631.~
-
-In 1631, the Landgrave William of Hesse had three companies of
-Chasseurs, armed with rifles.
-
-  ~Elector Maximilian, 1645.~
-
-In 1645, the Elector Maximilian of Bavaria formed three regiments of
-Chasseurs, armed with rifles which he intended to employ principally in
-the minor operations of war.
-
-  ~Frederick William of Prussia, 1674.~
-
-In 1647, Frederick William of Prussia, in his campaign on the Rhine,
-distributed in each company of infantry, some light infantry and
-Riflemen.
-
-  ~Frederick the Great in Seven Years’ War.~
-
-  ~By Austrians ditto.~
-
-Frederick the Great, in order to counterbalance the Austrian Light
-Troops, more particularly the Tyrolese Marksmen, whose fire was
-exceedingly deadly, felt obliged during the seven years’ war to add a
-company of trained light infantry to the effective strength of each
-battalion.
-
-  ~Rifles in France, 1674.~
-
-In France the Cavalry were supplied with rifles before the Infantry.
-Towards 1674 Louis XIV. created some squadrons of Cavalry armed with
-“Carabines rayées.” The name was given in France to all arms which were
-grooved, and it also served for the name of the corps which were first
-armed with them, viz., “Carabins.”
-
-  ~Rifles in English Life Guards.~
-
-In 1680 eight rifle carbines were carried in each troop of English Life
-Guards.
-
-  ~Rifles in Sweden, 1691.~
-
-In 1691 the Non-Commissioned Officers of the Swedish Dragoons received
-the rifled carabin, and in 1700 those of the Prussian Cavalry received
-the same rifled arms.
-
-  ~Experiments in England, 1776.~
-
-Experiments were tried with rifled small arms in England in the year
-1776.
-
-We read in the Scots’ Magazine, vol. 36, that “the Guards are every day
-practising the use of the Rifle Gun in Hyde Park. On Saturday, April
-27th, 1776, their Majesties attended a Review of the Rifle-men
-yesterday, and were much pleased with the dexterity of the officer, who
-loaded and fired several times in a minute, and hit the mark each time.
-He lies upon his back when he discharges his piece.”
-
-  ~Rifles in Austria, 1778.~
-
-Austria kept 2000 Sharpshooters, having double carbines, which were
-supplied with a crotch to rest them upon while shooting. Only one of the
-barrels was rifled.
-
-  ~Rifles in French infantry, 1793.~
-
-In 1793 the first model carbine for French Infantry was made at
-Versailles; at the same time the model for Cavalry was also fixed.
-Rifles were soon abandoned in the French Army; they deemed them of more
-trouble than profit.
-
-  ~Rifles, English, 1794.~
-
-In 1794 the English adopted the Rifle, which, I fancy, was first used by
-a Battalion of the 60th, or Royal American Regiment.
-
-  ~Rifles numerous in Austria, 1796.~
-
-In 1796 there were in the Austrian Army 15 Battalions of Light Infantry,
-the greater part of whom were armed with Rifles.
-
-  ~Rifles for the 95th regt., 1800.~
-
-In 1800, Rifles were placed in the hands of the 95th Regiment, now the
-Rifle Brigade of four Battalions. These Rifles weighed about 10¹⁄₂lbs.
-each, with the sword. They were sighted for 100 and 200 yards, with
-seven grooves, having a quarter turn in the length of the barrel, which
-was about 2 feet 6 inches, the length of the Rifle 3 feet 10 inches,
-weight of sword 1lb., diameter of bore ·623. The locks were excellent,
-and had a detent, to prevent the nose of the sear catching at half cock,
-and it had a bolt, to prevent its going off at half cock. The ball was
-spherical, and driven in with a mallet, which was afterwards dispensed
-with, and a greased patch substituted.
-
-  ~Rifle ball in two sizes.~
-
-  ~Range of English rifle.~
-
-During the Peninsular War, our Riflemen were supplied with balls of two
-sizes, the easiest fitting being designed for use where celerity of
-loading was required. Baker, who made these Rifles, says in his Work,
-1825, “I have found 200 yards the greatest range I could fire to any
-certainty. At 300 yards I have fired very well at times, when the wind
-has been calm. At 400 yards, and at 500 yards, I have frequently fired,
-and have sometimes struck the object, though I have found it to vary
-much.”
-
-  ~Rifles in 7th and 10th Dragoons.~
-
-Colonel Dickson, R.A., says, “In the early part of the present century,
-there was also introduced a rifle-arm for cavalry. The barrel 20 inches,
-calibre 20 bore, grooves 7, having the same pitch as those for the
-infantry; the 7th and 10th light cavalry were the only regiments armed
-with them, but they were soon discontinued from being considered as
-unfit for cavalry service.”
-
-  ~Brunswick rifle.~
-
-The Brunswick rifle was introduced in 1836. Weight with bayonet 11lbs.
-5oz., length of barrel 2ft. 6-in., bore ·704. Two deep spiral grooves
-with one turn in the length of the barrel. Sighted for 100, 200, and 300
-yards. Bullet spherical and belted, diameter ·696. Weight of bullet 557
-grains. The shooting of this arm was superior to our first rifle,
-although the loading was not so easy as was desired, and a great
-disadvantage existed in the bullet and cartridge being separate in the
-soldier’s pouch, the grooves were deeper and rounder than those of the
-ordinary rifle, the projecting zone of the ball was made to fit the
-grooves, the ball was wrapped in a linen patch dipped in grease. It was
-found that, although the rifle loaded easily at first, after constant
-firing the barrel became very foul, rendering loading nearly as
-difficult as under the old system of the indented ball. The belt on the
-ball caused considerable friction while passing through the air. (Plate
-20, fig. 1).
-
-  ~Merits of the Brunswick rifle.~
-
-By a committee of officers assembled at Enfield, it was determined that
-all firing with the Brunswick beyond 400 yards was too wild to give a
-correct angle of elevation. It was tested at Antwerp in 1844, in an
-experiment extending to 44,000 rounds, and declared to be the worst
-tried.
-
-  ~Improvements from France.~
-
-From France chiefly have proceeded most of the modern improvements in
-fire-arms.
-
-  ~French at discount without rifles.~
-
-  ~Captain Delvigne’s first step to restore rifles in France.~
-
-  ~The French desired to be on an equality with Arabs.~
-
-  ~Expansion by chamber.~
-
-  ~Defects of chambered rifle.~
-
-  ~Poncharra Delvigne rifle 1833.~
-
-The original French rifle (like our own) was loaded by force with a
-strong ramrod and mallet, and they found that it gave precision with
-diminution of range. For these reasons during the early campaigns of the
-French Revolution, the rifle was given up in the French army; but as
-their Chasseurs were found to be unequally matched against those of
-other armies, who surpassed them in accuracy as marksmen, a series of
-experiments were carried on at different times, with a view to its
-reintroduction into their service. No satisfactory result was obtained
-until the occupation of Algeria, when Mons. Delvigne, of the Guarde
-Royale, took the first step in its restoration. In the flying wars kept
-up against them by Abd-el-Kader, they found that masses of their men
-were struck by Arab balls at distances where the French muskets were
-apparently powerless, and this they afterwards found arose from the long
-matchlocks of their enemies being fired at a much greater elevation than
-was ever thought of by European troops. In order to put themselves on an
-equality with their enemies, Mons. Delvigne showed in 1828 how the rifle
-bullet could be made to enter the piece easily, and quit it in a forced
-state; a method of loading as easy and simple as that of a smooth-bore
-arm. Expansion was obtained by the introduction of a chamber in the
-bore, which furnished an annular surface to receive the bullet, and on
-its being struck a small blow with the rammer it was expanded into the
-grooves. (Plate 20, fig. 2). The objection to the chambered rifle, was
-that after frequently firing, a residuum collected which eventually left
-the powder less room in the chamber, and of necessity it then reached
-above the shoulder of the latter, so that the ball resting upon the
-powder instead of upon the shoulder of the chamber, was not so readily
-dilated by the strokes of the ramrod into the grooves. To remedy this
-defect the wooden sabot and greased patch (plate 20, fig. 3) were
-suggested by Colonel Poncharra, in 1833, introduced into the French army
-1839, and employed in Algeria, 1840, but several inconveniences attended
-its use.
-
-  ~Carabine à Tige, 1842.~
-
-  ~Defects of Tige.~
-
-  ~Tige introduced, 1846.~
-
-Colonel Thouvenin endeavoured to overcome these difficulties by fixing
-at the bottom of the bore an iron shank, around which was placed the
-powder. This stem, (plate 20, fig. 4) stopping the bullet, allowed it to
-be struck in such a manner as to cause the lead to penetrate into the
-grooves. There is much fouling at the breech, and around the pillar of
-these rifles. They are difficult to clean, the soldier having to carry
-an instrument for this purpose. The Chasseurs and Zouaves of the African
-Army were armed with the tige in 1846.
-
-At first a spherical ball had been used, and then a solid
-cylindro-conical bullet was resorted to; (Plate 20, fig. 6.) Messrs.
-Delvigne and Minié having long previously experimented with hollow
-cylindro-conical projectiles.
-
-  ~Minié iron cup.~
-
-  ~French army 1850.~
-
-Some years after these experiments, Captain Minié proposed the adoption
-of a bullet which should receive its expansion by placing an iron cup in
-the hollow of the base, which should be driven up by the gas, and force
-the walls of the cavity outwards, thus making them enter the grooves.
-(Plate 20, fig. 7.) In 1850 the Fusil rayé with balle à culot was put
-into the hands of some French regiments of the line, and since then the
-French Imperial Guard have been armed with the old musket rifled, and a
-hollow bullet without a cup.
-
-At present it is understood that the French are rifling all their smooth
-bore arms, and the Russians are doing the same.
-
-  ~Prussian. army.~
-
-  ~Russian riflemen.~
-
-  ~Austrian riflemen.~
-
-  ~Belgium.~
-
-  ~Portugal.~
-
-The Prussians have many thousands of their infantry armed with a
-breech-loading long range Rifle. The Russian Army is to have fifty-four
-rifle regiments, with a rifle company to each other regiment of
-Infantry. The Austrians are busy at work, according to their means. The
-Tyrol has always supplied them with a large number of marksmen. The
-Belgians are, I believe, universally armed with rifles, and even the
-little Kingdom of Portugal has ordered 28,000 rifles from Belgium.
-
-  ~Conoidal bullet, with Brunswick.~
-
-  ~Minié rifle, introduced, 1851.~
-
-  ~Performance and angle of Minié.~
-
-Subsequent to the French experiments with the conoidal bullet, and the
-great results obtained over the spherical from it, it was proposed to
-adapt a conoidal bullet to the Brunswick Rifle. (Plate 20, fig 5.) This
-was done as an experiment, and succeeded very well, but at the same time
-the new arm, called the Minié pattern, 1851, was also tried, and the
-shooting exhibited greater accuracy with this latter arm. Nothing
-further was done with the Brunswick rifle and conoidal bullet; and the
-(then called) “new regulation Minié,” was introduced into the service by
-the late Marquis of Anglesea, Master-General of Ordnance, with the
-approval of the late Duke of Wellington. Its weight with bayonet, was
-10lbs. 8³⁄₄ozs., bore ·702, four spiral grooves, with one turn in 6 feet
-6-in., powder, 2¹⁄₂ drs., bullet, 680 grs., with iron cup, diameter of
-bullet, ·690, windage, ·012. When the axis is parallel to the ground at
-4 feet 6-in. above it, the first graze is about 177 yards, and the angle
-of elevation at 800 yards, is 3° 25.
-
-  ~Consequences of improvements in military rifles.~
-
-A few years previous to the Russian war, rifles had attained to a degree
-of improvement in structure and adaptability to the general purpose of
-war, which threatened subversion to the established notions of the
-military world.
-
-  ~Probable effect on artillery.~
-
-  ~On cavalry.~
-
-  ~Minié in Kaffir war.~
-
-  ~Bullet improved.~
-
-The artillery arm was menaced in its long rested monopoly of range and
-precision, with an equilibrium in hands it had never dreamed to find it;
-one which not alone would curb the wonted dash of field batteries to
-within the “shortest range,” but also impress a more than wonted respect
-upon the best led and most daring cavalry, for even the thinnest
-formation of that arm, which it had hitherto been taught to despise. The
-Minié was first used in the Kaffir war, and next at Alma and Inkerman,
-when it proved that the gallant Marquis had advanced a step in the right
-direction; who had ordered 28,000, but quarrels taking place among the
-contractors this order was never completed. The accuracy of firing from
-the Minié was improved by altering the form of the bullet from conoidal
-to cylindro-conoidal, (plate 20, fig. 8.) and the iron cup from
-hemispherical to a conical shape with a hole in the apex.
-
-  ~Lord Hardinge’s desire for improvement.~
-
-  ~Experiments at Enfield.~
-
-Lord Hardinge, succeeding to the post of Master-General, and after to
-that of Commander-in-Chief, zealously followed out the prosecution of
-the now becoming fixed idea, the general adoption for British infantry,
-of a pattern rifle-musket, which should combine lightness with
-solidity, precision, and superior range. Lord Hardinge opened
-competition to the leading British gun makers, when the following sent
-in muskets for trial, viz:--Purdy, Westley Richards, Lancaster,
-Wilkinson, and Greener. The Minié pattern, (51), and Brunswick, (36),
-were also subjected to a course of trial before the committee assembled
-at Enfield, in 1852, for the purpose of determining the best description
-of fire-arm for military service.
-
-  ~Merits of the Brunswick.~
-
-The Brunswick rifle showed itself to be very much inferior in point of
-range to every arm hitherto tried. The loading was so difficult, that it
-is wonderful how the rifle regiments can have continued to use it so
-long, the force required to ram down the ball was so great as to render
-a man’s hand much too unsteady for accurate shooting. Colonel Gordon,
-says, “It should be noticed here with the exception of Mr. Wilkinson,
-every one of the makers changed either his musket or projectile during
-the trials, thereby causing them to be protracted much beyond the time
-originally intended.”
-
-  ~All had reduced bores.~
-
-  ~Elongated bullets.~
-
-  ~Reversed cartridge.~
-
-  ~Best shooting from short rifle.~
-
-  ~Advantage of small bore.~
-
-  ~Disadvantages of small bore.~
-
-The diameter of the bore of all the new muskets was less than that
-hitherto in use, all the bullets were elongated and had auxiliaries for
-expansion, being metallic, or in one case a horn plug, one pattern had
-cannelures and the whole required the cartridge to be reversed in
-loading. It is worthy of remark that the best shooting at these trials
-was from a short rifle made at Enfield, which was named the artillery
-carbine, but not the one now used by the Royal Artillery. The barrel was
-only 2 feet 6-in. long, and the projectile cylindro-conoidal, with an
-iron cup weighing 620 grains; thus proving that great length of barrel
-is not absolutely necessary in a rifle; but a certain length of barrel
-is required to fire in double ranks, and so that the weapon may be
-effectually used as a pike. With a small bore, a greater number of
-rounds of ammunition may be carried, greater penetration, velocity,
-lower trajectory, and more accuracy, than with larger projectiles of
-equal weight. The alleged disadvantages of small bore are, the slender
-form of cartridge and the smaller hole made in a man’s body, as stated
-to be proved in the case of wild animals, in proof of which it is said
-that they are found to run further when wounded with a small ball, than
-they do with a large one; but this reasoning does not seem applicable to
-the human race, for it is presumed that few men would be found willing
-to move far when wounded by a musket ball, whether the hole in their
-body was ·702 or ·530 of an inch in diameter.
-
-  ~Objection to reversing the cartridge.~
-
-An absurd objection was stated as to reversing the cartridge, viz:--that
-drill with blank would be performed in a different manner to firing
-ball, and that in action the soldier would forget to reverse his
-cartridge, and put in the ball first. As we now always perform our
-drill, and as our present blank cartridges require to be reversed or
-will not ignite, this objection is removed. It also was said that mice,
-rats, &c., &c., would eat off the lubricating mixture!!
-
-It was proposed to give the Enfield, (1853,) a back sight to 900 yards,
-when an outcry was raised against the monstrous proposition of giving to
-every common soldier a delicately made back sight, whether he knew how
-to use it or not!!! and those rifles first issued, were only sighted to
-300 yards.
-
-  ~The Enfield rifle.~
-
-At the conclusion of the trials at Enfield, in August, 1852, two rifles
-were made at the Royal Manufactory, in which were embodied the
-improvements and alterations suggested by the experience obtained during
-the course of the trials, and which was hoped would possess the
-necessary requirements for a military weapon, and which proved superior
-to the Minié, the Brunswick, and all those presented for trial by the
-different manufacturers.
-
-  ~Dimensions, &c., of Enfield.~
-
-This beautiful rifle though 2¹⁄₂lbs. less than the old musket, is fully
-as strong, and as capable of rough usage. Weight, including bayonet,
-9lbs. 3 ozs., bore, ·577, length of barrel, 3 feet 3-in., weight of
-barrel, 4lbs. 6 ozs., three grooves with spiral of one turn in 6 feet
-6-in.; the barrel to be fastened to the stock by bands. The bayonet to
-be fixed by means of a locking ring. The lock to have a swivel. The
-bullet was of a pattern suggested by Mr. Pritchett. (Plate 20, fig. 9.)
-
-  ~Attempts to improve the bullet.~
-
-  ~Description of Pritchett.~
-
-Lord Hardinge, desirous to improve the projectile, and if possible to
-get rid of the cup, having requested the leading gun makers to lay any
-suggestions before the small arms committee, none were submitted but one
-by Mr. Wilkinson, which was not a compound. It was solid with two deep
-cannelures, but it lost its accuracy when made up into a cartridge, and
-made very wild practice beyond 300 yards. (Plate 20, fig. 10.)
-Subsequently a bullet was proposed by Mr. Pritchett, being
-cylindro-conoidal in form, with a small hollow at the base, which was
-made more to throw the centre of gravity forward than to obtain
-expansion thereby. This bullet weighed 520 grains, or 24 guage, and
-excellent practice was made with it at Enfield, from 100, to 800 yards,
-and it was accordingly introduced into the service, to the suppression
-of the Minié, with iron cup; and for which Mr. Pritchett, received
-£1,000.
-
-  ~Lancaster smooth _bore_ rifles.~
-
-Shortly after the establishment of the School of Musketry, in June,
-1853, twenty Enfield rifles were sent down for trial in competition with
-the Minié, and also with “Lancaster’s smooth bore eliptical rifle, with
-increasing spiral and freed at the breech,” when the Enfield was found
-to be superior to both. It is stated that Mr. Lancaster’s invention is
-intended to overcome the inconvenience attendant on the wearing out the
-rifle ridges, by the ramrod, &c.; these rifles are also easily cleaned,
-the difference in width between the major and minor axis of the ellipse
-was, ¹⁄₁₀₀ of an inch.
-
-  ~Engineer Carbine.~
-
-Carbines on this principle are now carried by the Royal Engineers, and
-shoot well, and by some persons are thought to be superior to the
-Enfield, 1853; they fire the same ammunition, and there is no question
-but that their firing is much more accurate from using the improved
-wooden plug bullet.
-
-  ~Failure of the Pritchett.~
-
-In May, 1855, the ammunition was found to be in a most unsatisfactory
-state and unfit to be used, there being bullets of various diameters in
-many of the packages of the cartridges. The correct size of the
-Pritchett bullet viz., ·568, was found to produce accurate shooting, at
-600 yards, while bullets of a smaller diameter fired very badly.
-
-  ~Return to iron cup.~
-
-To get out of this difficulty, Colonel Hay recommended the application
-of the iron cup to the bullet, which was approved, when more uniform
-expansion resulted and greater accuracy.
-
-Thus by using an auxiliary to expansion there is a margin left to cover
-any trifling inaccuracy in manufacture, in diameter of either bullet or
-bore.
-
-  ~Woolwich account for bad _ammunition_.~
-
-The Woolwich authorities stated that they had seven dies at work making
-bullets, and which were made small at first as they gradually wore
-larger; when any one die became too large it was destroyed, and replaced
-by a smaller one. To this cause they imputed the failure of our
-Pritchett ammunition. It was afterwards suggested from the School of
-Musketry, to procure expansion by using a wooden plug, and after most
-extensive experiments, this was found to be superior to any description
-of bullet yet tried at Hythe, and the wooden plug has accordingly been
-established for the British army. (Plate 20, fig. 11.)
-
-  ~On expansion.~
-
-Uniform accuracy mainly results from the bullet continuing to receive a
-sufficient and uniform expansion into the grooves, so that the
-projectiles get such an amount of rotation as shall last until they have
-reached the object fired at. The more perfect the expansion, the less
-the accumulation of fouling and consequently accuracy is further
-increased.
-
-The Enfield has frequently been fired to 200 rounds and the loading
-continued easy.
-
-  ~Progressive grooving 1858.~
-
-Early in 1858, the regulation rifle, (53), was changed from grooves of
-uniform, ·014 in depth, to ·005 at muzzle, increasing in depth to ·015
-at the breech; while new, these rifles shoot well, but they require
-increased elevation at long ranges. How far these shallow grooves will
-answer, or how long it will take to convert these aims into smooth bores
-at the muzzle, by the continued friction of the ramrod, remains to be
-seen.
-
-  ~Origin of progressive grooving.~
-
-  ~Advantages.~
-
-Captain Panot, of the French service, states, “it is but a few years
-since all our smooth bore barrels were reamed so that they would carry
-the spherical ball of ·669, instead of ·641. It was afterwards
-determined to convert these arms into rifles. To prevent weakening the
-reamed up barrels, M. Tamisier proposed to vary the depth of the
-grooves, making them deeper at the breech than at the muzzle.” Grooves
-thus made, are said to have a greater accuracy of fire from keeping the
-ball perfectly tight as it leaves the bore and destroying all windage at
-the muzzle. This is called “progressive grooving.” Rifles upon this
-principle require to be fired at an increased elevation, attributed to
-the greater amount of friction experienced by the bullet while passing
-down the barrel.
-
-  ~Short Enfield.~
-
-Rifle regiments and all serjeants of infantry have been furnished with a
-weapon requiring the same ammunition as the regulation arm, but six
-inches shorter, being mounted in steel, with a sword bayonet.
-
-  ~Royal Navy rifle.~
-
-A five “grooved progressive” carbine has recently been given to the
-Royal Marine Artillery and the Royal Navy, with the same bore as the
-Enfield.
-
-
-RIFLED BREECH-LOADERS.
-
-
-  ~Early guns loaded at the breech.~
-
-It is worthy of notice that, while numerous attempts are now making to
-perfect the breech-loader for sporting as well as military purposes, our
-early cannon and first hand guns were loaded at the breech, and if all
-mechanical difficulties could be overcome, the breech-loading principle
-for portable fire-arms would deserve the preference. We can easily
-understand why it did not continue in favour in early days, as this mode
-includes a great deal of perfection in mechanical workmanship, and to
-which the ancient gun maker was a stranger.
-
-  ~Disadvantages of breech-loaders.~
-
-The great argument against breech-loaders as military weapons is the
-expense, their intricate construction, the escape of gas, and the
-probable waste of ammunition, in the hands of an uneducated soldier. It
-may be briefly answered.
-
-  ~1st. As to expense.~
-
-1st.--As to expense, the most destructive weapon, by preventing and
-curtailing war, must in the long run be the cheapest.
-
-  ~2nd. As to intricacy.~
-
-2nd.--As to intricacy of construction, the soldier is the user, not the
-maker of his gun; it matters not how delicate the mechanism of a watch
-may be, the only question is, does it continue to go well!! And who dare
-say that the brains of man shall never suggest a simple mode of
-construction. Of course anything fragile would be totally unfit for
-military purposes. The escape of gas has been entirely overcome.
-
-  ~3rd. As to waste of ammunition.~
-
-3rd.--As to waste of ammunition, is it absolutely necessary that a
-soldier should remain uneducated? Are not soldiers men? And men can be
-taught almost anything, or are they incapable of being taught? Does a
-soldier fire how, when and where he chooses? Is it too high an
-aspiration that the British army should carry the best arm that can be
-made, to be placed in the hands of a taught and skilful soldier, acting
-under the guidance and control of intelligent officers?
-
-  ~Breech-loaders highly improved.~
-
-  ~Ammunition the difficulty.~
-
-As far as the arm only is concerned, breech-loaders have now (1860)
-attained a high degree of perfection, as is proved by the deserved
-celebrity of that made by Mr. Westley Richards. The only remaining
-difficulty is one of ammunition. Loose powder cannot be employed in
-loading with a breech as it can with a muzzle-loader. We are up to this
-time under the necessity of introducing the whole of the cartridge, this
-of course augments fouling and lessens accuracy; there is also increased
-difficulty in producing ignition through the fold of the cartridge
-paper.
-
-  ~Capt. Brown’s compressed powder.~
-
-Recently a most ingenious mode of compressing the grains of powder
-contained in a charge into one mass, so that every description of rifle
-may be rapidly loaded without any paper, has been invented by Captain
-Brown, R. N., and I have every hope and confidence that the only
-remaining breech-loading difficulty may now be considered overcome.
-
-  ~Advantages of breech-loaders.~
-
-  ~1st. Celerity.~
-
-  ~2nd. Load lying down.~
-
-  ~3rd. Easily cleaned.~
-
-  ~4th. Solid ball.~
-
-The advantages of breech-loaders, are, 1st.--Celerity of fire, about ten
-rounds a minute have been attained. 2nd.--The soldier can load while
-lying flat on the ground. 3rd.--The barrel can be easily cleaned and
-examined as to its state. 4th.--A solid ball can be fired, and with less
-windage.
-
-  ~Self capping.~
-
-Various modes of self capping have been brought forward, but that by
-Maynard seems to merit the preference; time is further economized, and
-the powers of the breech-loader thereby increased.
-
-  ~Cavalry have breech-loaders.~
-
-Our cavalry regiments in India, are partially armed with breech-loading
-rifles, and all their pistols are rifled, and upon the tige principle.
-
-  ~Rifles universal in English army.~
-
-The whole of our Guards, regular Infantry, Royal Marines, Militia, and
-Royal Engineers, are armed with rifles, and the Carabine used by the
-Royal Artillery, is also rifled. All our Colonial corps are supplied
-with rifled arms, with the exception of the Native corps, serving in the
-East Indies and Ceylon.
-
-  ~In larger numbers.~
-
-  ~Taught to use.~
-
-  ~Prizes.~
-
-Thus rifles are introduced in larger numbers and of better quality in
-the armies of England, in proportion to their numbers, than amongst any
-other nation. While more care and expense is incurred in qualifying our
-soldiers efficiently to use them. In illustration of which, it is only
-needful to call attention to the simple fact that £20,000 per annum is
-distributed as a stimulus to the marksmen of the British army, for which
-boon all honour to our Royal Commander-in-Chief.
-
-  ~Explosive shells.~
-
-The idea has recently been revived to increase the destructive powers of
-Infantry, by furnishing them with shells, with which they may explode
-ammunition waggons, artillery limbers, &c., &c., to the distance of
-1,000 yards. Captain Norton, Mr. Dyer, Colonel Jacobs, and Mr.
-Whitworth, have directed their minds to this most important subject.
-
-
-
-
-ON RIFLING.
-
-
-It has been stated that amongst the different gun makers who assembled
-at Woolwich, for the carrying on of experiments in 1851, no two agreed
-upon any one thing; and in 1860, it may still be averred, with almost
-equal truth, and that it yet remains an unsettled question as to the
-form, width, depth, number or degree of spirality of the grooves, as
-also the harmony which should subsist between the grooves, diameter of
-bore, the form and weight of projectile, and the quality and quantity of
-charge.
-
-  ~Description of Rifles.~
-
-  ~Advantages of a rifle.~
-
-Robins, in 1742, says, “rifles though well known on the continent, being
-but little used in England, it is necessary to give a short description
-of their make. The rifle has its cylinder cut with a number of spiral
-channels, so that it is in reality a female screw, varying from the
-fabric of common screws, only in this, that its threads or rifles are
-less deflected and approach more to a straight line.” The advantage of a
-rifle (with a round bullet), is that the axis of rotation not being in
-any accidental position, as in a smooth bore, but coincident with the
-line of its flight, it follows that the resistance on the fore part of
-the bullet is equally distributed round the centre of gravity, and acts
-with an equal force on every side of the line of direction, and also
-should the resistance be greater on one side of the bullet than the
-other from irregularities on its surface, as this part continually
-shifts its position round the line in which it is proceeding, the
-deflections which this irregularity would occasion are neutralized. With
-an elongated projectile rifling also prevents it from rotating round its
-shorter axis.
-
-  ~Rifling invented in Germany.~
-
-  ~Rifles used 1498.~
-
-  ~Straight grooves.~
-
-It is to the artizans of Germany, that the rifle owes its origin, as at
-the close of the fifteenth century barrels with straight grooves were
-used by the citizens of Leipsic, at target practice, in 1498, and the
-invention of grooving or rifling fire-arms is generally supposed to be
-the result more of accident than theory. In Dean’s Manual of fire-arms,
-it is stated that, “the idea of grooving arms in the direction of the
-axis of the barrel to receive the residium of the powder, and thereby,
-not only facilitate the loading, but increase both the bite or forcing
-of the ball, by impressing upon it the grooves, and thus maintain it
-during its passage through the barrel in a direction more in harmony
-with the line of fire, was doubtless a conception based upon no previous
-theory or practice now to be traced, but was formed in that
-suggestiveness which in the individual founds for itself a theory based
-upon the likelihood of possible result. Upon trial also of the straight
-grooves a greater precision for short distances would have been
-observed than with the smooth bore.” This must of itself therefore have
-led to the establishment of a certain grade of theory which it was
-endeavoured to amplify by various means, such as increasing the number
-of grooves, then of changing the inclination of grooves from the
-straight line to the spiral.
-
-To deem that the practised crack “shots and armourers of a time when
-target practice was the constant recreation of the citizen, and his
-pride to excel in, were so brainless as to conceive no theory,
-unelaborated though it may have been, and that all their even now
-admired efforts in Germany, were the products of mere accident, is
-therefore scarcely a rational supposition.”
-
-  ~Spiral grooves, by Koster, of Nuremberg in 1522.~
-
-It is stated that Koster, of Nuremburg, in 1522, first suggested giving
-a spiral form to the grooves, and experience proved that much greater
-accuracy of shooting was the result.
-
-  ~Damer of Nuremberg, 1552.~
-
-In 1552, Damer, of Nuremburg, made some great improvements in rifles,
-but we are not aware of their precise nature.
-
-  ~Koster of Nuremberg, 1620.~
-
-Koster, of Nuremburg, who died 1630, by some authorities is said to have
-discovered that straight grooves did not fulfil the intentions of their
-inventor, and to have been the first who suggested spiral grooves in
-1620.
-
-  ~Robins first explained action of grooves.~
-
-  ~Robins structure of rifles.~
-
-  ~Modes of loading.~
-
-The important stage next arrived at was the scientific explanation of
-the true value of spiral grooves. The honor of this entirely belongs to
-our countryman, Benjamin Robins, who in his Principles of Gunnery, gives
-a complete and satisfactory explanation of the action of the grooves in
-determining the flight of the bullet. Robins states that “the degree of
-spirality, the number of threads, the depth the channel are cut down to,
-are not regulated according to any invariable rule, but differ according
-to the country where the work is performed, and the caprice of the
-artificer. The most usual mode of charging rifles is by forcing the ball
-with a strong rammer and mallet. But in some parts of Germany and
-Switzerland, an improvement is made by cutting a piece of very thin
-leather or fustian in a circular shape, somewhat larger than the bore,
-which being greased on one side is laid upon the muzzle with its greasy
-part downwards, and the bullet being placed upon it, is then forced down
-the barrel with it. When this is practised the rifles are generally
-shallow, and the bullet ought not to be too large.
-
-  ~Early rifles, breech-loaders.~
-
-As both these methods of charging rifles take up a good deal of time;
-the rifled barrels which have been made in England, (for I remember not
-to have seen it in any foreign piece,) are contrived to be charged at
-the breech, where the piece is made larger, and the powder and bullet
-are put in through an opening in the side of the barrel, which, when the
-piece is loaded is fitted up with a screw. And perhaps somewhat of this
-kind, though not in the manner now practised, would be of all others the
-most perfect method for the construction of these sorts of barrels.”
-
-
-ON THE NUMBER, FORM &c., &c., &c., OF THE GROOVES.
-
-  ~Number of grooves.~
-
-  ~Degree of spirality.~
-
-Almost every description of twist, number, &c., &c., of grooves have
-been tried, according to the individual tastes and theories of the
-manufacturers. It is absolutely necessary to have two grooves, as a
-single one would give a wrong direction. Rifles have been made with,
-from two to one hundred and thirty three grooves, and in the majority of
-cases, an odd seems to have been preferred to an even number. In Dean’s
-Manual it is stated, that “in the numerous collections of arms that have
-at various times come under our personal notice, some were rifled with
-straight, but the majority with grooves in a spiral line, sometimes with
-a half, sometimes a three quarter, and seldom more than a whole turn in
-a length of two, two and a half and three feet; deviations based upon no
-principle transmitted to us, but requiring nevertheless a decided
-research for principles upon which to establish a theory; we have also
-met with every one of those configurations of the spiral and form of
-groove, &c., &c., which have been arrogated as modern conceits and
-discoveries.”
-
-  ~Spirality.~
-
-Some rifles have sharp muzzle twist decreasing to the breech;--sharp
-breech twist decreasing to the muzzle; an increase of twist in the
-middle of the barrel decreasing at both extremities.
-
-  ~Modification in France. 1740.~
-
-In France a modification of the Carabine took place in 1740;--the
-grooves were made to begin at eight inches from the muzzle, the unrifled
-part being of the same calibre as the bottom of the grooves, so that the
-bullet might pass easily; thus also facilitating the loading of the
-weapon.
-
-  ~Rifled only at muzzle.~
-
-There is an old rifle in the United Service Institution, and also a
-barrel brought from Lucknow, (in the Model Room of the School of
-Musketry,) grooved only for about one foot from the muzzle, the
-remainder of the barrels are smooth bored.
-
-  ~Degree of spirality.~
-
-The degree of spirality is found to vary from a whole turn in 1 foot
-5-in., to a whole turn in 11 feet.
-
-  ~Depth of spiral.~
-
-The depth of grooves vary from ·005 of an inch, to about ·125; and some
-rifles have been made with an alternate deep and shallow groove.
-
-  ~Form of grooves.~
-
-Grooves have been made round, circular, triangular, rectangular, and
-indefinite, alternate round and angular, elliptical, polygonal; and some
-cut deep only on one side.
-
-  ~Proportion of groove to land.~
-
-Some gun makers are of opinion that there should be a greater proportion
-of groove or furrow than of land or plain surface, because they say the
-ball is thus more firmly held, while others maintain that by diminishing
-the number of the grooves, the accuracy and range would be increased,
-and this has led to the opposite theory, that perhaps if anything, the
-plain surface of the bore should predominate over the grooved.
-
-  ~Form of early grooves straight.~
-
-The earliest rifles had two straight deep creases opposite to each
-other, the bullet being spherical, and furnished with small circular
-knots of lead, large enough to fill the creases.
-
-  ~Form &c., of ancient rifles.~
-
-The greater number of ancient rifles have a whole turn, with an odd
-number of deep and rounded grooves; hence we may infer these were
-considered the best forms.
-
-  ~Objects of rifling.~
-
-As accuracy of direction is the result of a spiral motion round an axis
-coincident with the flight of the bullet, communicated to it by the
-grooves, it is clear that the depth, number, and form of the grooves
-should be such as will hold the bullet firmly, and prevent all tendency
-to strip.
-
-  ~On the degree of spirality.~
-
-  ~Sharp twist and large charge not cause stripping.~
-
-The degree of spirality should be sufficient to retain the projectile
-point foremost during the whole of its flight. It was at one time
-supposed that if the spiral turn was great, and the charge strong, the
-bullet would not conform, but strip, and that the same results would
-occur even with grooves but little curved. Unquestionably this would
-prove true if certain limits were to be exceeded. A false conclusion was
-built upon this theory, viz., that the greater the spiral turn the less
-the charge should be; and that therefore in rifles intended for war, the
-greatest initial velocity being required to produce the greatest range,
-the groove should have as little turn as possible; for extreme ranges
-have been obtained with Jacob’s, Whitworth’s, and Lancaster’s rifles;
-the first has a full turn in 24in. the second in 20in. These rifles
-perform well with 90 grains of powder, and both Whitworth’s and
-Lancaster’s might even fire better were the charge of powder increased
-to 100 grains, the recoil might be objectionable while there would be no
-symptoms of stripping.
-
-  ~On depth of groove.~
-
-Great depth of groove can only be hurtful, owing to the difficulty of
-closing up all passage to the gas, which should not be allowed to escape
-round the bullet, as this would cause deviation and shorten range. Deep
-grooves become a receptacle for fouling, are difficult to clean; and
-high projections must offer great resistance to the atmosphere, and
-particularly to a side wind.
-
-  ~Patches.~
-
-When fustian or leather are used as patches, they receive and
-communicate the spiral motion to the bullet, without the zone of the
-projectile being at all indented, but in this case the spiral must be
-diminished, otherwise the bullet would not turn with the grooves. If the
-patches be made of a thick material, the grooves should be many, broad,
-and not too shallow, in order to receive the folds of the patch.
-
-  ~Shallow grooves best.~
-
-From our present amount of experience it seems safe to conclude that the
-shallower the grooves are the better, so that they perform their
-intended functions.
-
-  ~Proportion of groove to land.~
-
-It is now generally recommended that the grooves be made broader than
-the lands, _i.e._, that the rifling surface should predominate over the
-unrifled part of the bore. Shallow grooves with rounded edges, have the
-advantage of not leaving any angular traces on the surface of the
-bullet, besides they afford a greater facility for cleaning.
-
-  ~Circular grooving.~
-
-Circular grooving is composed of segments of circles, leaving no sharp
-edges on the bullet, and is no doubt a very good form.
-
-  ~Gaining twist.~
-
-  ~Cause of canting.~
-
-An American gentleman named Chapman, who has written a very clever book
-upon the rifle, is a strong advocate for the “gaining twist,” which form
-prevails generally in American rifles. He states, “In a rifled barrel,
-it is obvious that a bullet instantaneously started from a state of
-rest, with a velocity of 5,000ft. a second, must exert at the moment of
-starting, a tendency to move along the bore in a straight line. However,
-meeting with the resistance that the lands employ to keep it to the
-twist, it communicates to the rifle itself a certain amount of motion in
-the direction of the twist of the creases, and this as the angle of the
-twist increases, combined with the size of the calibre, and the weight
-of the ball.”
-
-  ~Remedy for canting.~
-
-“If the angle of the twist at the breech end can be reduced, the bullet
-at the same time leaving the muzzle with sufficient spin to last
-throughout its flight, it is certain we shall have less twisting of the
-rifle in the marksman’s hands, less friction of the bullet against the
-lands, less tendency for the bullet to upset, (or be destroyed,) and
-consequently, from obtaining a higher velocity, (because enabled to use
-a greater quantity of powder,) less time for the action of regular or
-irregular currents of air.”
-
-  ~Uniform spiral by American Government.~
-
-After careful experiments by the American Government, preparatory to the
-establishing the model for their Military Rifle, it was decided that the
-turn for the grooves should be uniform; and that those with an
-increasing twist did not give any superiority of accuracy. The “gaining
-twist,” although adopted by Mr. Lancaster, is opposed by Mr. Whitworth,
-and all other Rifle manufacturers, and our increased experience does not
-prove it to possess any advantages over uniform spirality. Theory would
-indicate that it must occasion increased friction.
-
-  ~Decreasing spiral.~
-
-Mr. Greener advocates decreasing spirality. It is to be hoped he is the
-only advocate for so seemingly absurd an idea. To give a certain measure
-of spiral turn at the breech, to be withdrawn gradually as the bullet
-reaches the muzzle, is simply ridiculous, and which, with other conceits
-previously referred to, it is to be hoped are no more to be repeated.
-
-  ~Polygonal rifling.~
-
-By the desire of our first Patron, the late Lord Hardinge, Mr. Whitworth
-was induced to turn his mechanical genius to the Soldier’s Gun, which
-resulted in his adopting the polygonal form of bore. His barrel is
-hexagonal, and thus, instead of consisting of non-effective lands, and
-partly of grooves, consists entirely of effective rifling surfaces. The
-angular corners of the hexagon are always rounded. Supposing a bullet of
-a cylindrical shape to be fired, when it begins to expand it is driven
-into the recesses of the hexagon. It thus adapts itself to the curves of
-the spiral, and the inclined sides of the hexagon offering no direct
-resistance, expansion is easily effected.
-
-  ~Westley Richards octagonal.~
-
-Mr. Westley Richards has followed Mr. Whitworth, by using a polygonal
-bore, having applied his highly meritorious system of breech-loading to
-a barrel upon the Whitworth principle, of an octagonal form.
-
-  ~Eliptic rifling.~
-
-  ~By Captain Berner, 1835.~
-
-  ~By Mr. Lancaster.~
-
-The cardinal feature of this structure is, that the bore of the barrel
-is smooth, and instead of being circular, is cut into the form of an
-ellipse, i.e., it has a major and minor axis. Upon being expanded by the
-force of the powder, the bullet is forced into the greater axis of the
-ellipse, which performs the office of the grooves, rifling the
-projectile, and imparting to it the spiral or normal movement round its
-own axis. In 1835 a Captain Berner submitted his elliptical bore musket
-to the inspection and trial of the Royal Hanoverian Commission,
-appointed for that purpose, and which gave results so satisfactory, that
-it was considered admirably adapted for the Jäger and Light Infantry
-Battalions. This principle has been patented by Mr. Lancaster, and the
-advantages of this form have been previously adverted to.
-
-  ~Odd number of grooves.~
-
-It is supposed by some persons that if the number of grooves be even, so
-that they will be opposite to one another, the bullet would then require
-more force to enlarge it, so as to fill them properly. If the number be
-unequal, the lands will be opposite to the grooves, and the lead, in
-forcing, spreading on all sides, will encounter a land opposite to each
-groove, which will in some measure repel it, and render its introduction
-into the opposite groove more complete.
-
-This ingenious theory is set at nought by Whitworth, Jacobs, Lancaster,
-W. Richards, &c., &c., who all recommended an even number of grooves,
-while the Government arms have an odd number.
-
-  ~Drift or cant.~
-
-If the grooves twist or turn over from left to right, the balls will be
-carried to the right; and if from right to left, they will group to the
-left; and this result will be great in proportion to the degree of
-spirality. The causes of Drift or “Derivation” will be treated of
-hereafter. We know from observation that the majority of balls strike to
-the right of the mark. The recoil and _pulling_ the trigger throw back
-the right shoulder, which tend to increase the “derivation” to the
-right. If the twist were, then, from _right_ to _left_, the drift, error
-from _pulling_, and from recoil, would tend to neutralize each other;
-the twist of the grooves should therefore be from right to left, instead
-of the present universal practice of from _left_ to right.
-
-  ~On length of barrel.~
-
-  ~Favors expansion.~
-
-  ~Assists aiming, firing two deep: when using bayonet.~
-
-The barrel of a gun may be looked upon as a machine in which force is
-generated for the propulsion of the bullet. It is well known that the
-continued action of a lesser force, will produce a much greater effect,
-than a greater amount of power applied suddenly; hence mild gunpowder is
-more suitable for rifle shooting than strong, or that which evolves the
-whole of its gas instantaneously. Time is necessary for the entire
-combustion of a charge of gunpowder, consequently more mild gunpowder
-can be fired out of a long, than out of a short barrel, as if fired out
-of a short barrel, some of the grains might be ejected unconsumed. All
-extra length, after the last volume of gas is evolved, can only be
-injurious, by causing loss of velocity from friction. A billiard ball
-would travel none the further nor straighter, were it to be propelled
-through a hollow tube, neither would a barrel to a cross bow aid in
-killing rooks. A barrel favours expansion of the bullet, which is
-produced by the force of the generated gas, opposed by the column of air
-in the hollow tube and by the motion of the projectile. Facility in
-aiming is promoted by the sights being distant from each other. In a
-military arm a certain length is necessary in order to fire when two
-deep in the ranks, and length is also advantageous, should the rifle be
-used as a pike.
-
-  ~Advantages of short rifle.~
-
-  ~Disadvantages of short rifles.~
-
-The short rifle can be held steadier when standing, by a weak man, and
-during wind, it is handy when passing through a wood or thicket, and a
-very short man has more command of his gun when loading; but with the
-sword bayonet, it is heavier than the long Enfield and bayonet; while
-the sword is very inconvenient when running, firing kneeling, or lying
-down.
-
-  ~Thickness of barrel.~
-
-Great substance was at one time considered necessary for accurate
-firing, it being supposed necessary to prevent vibrations in the barrel;
-this is true within certain limits, and the heavier the charge, the
-heavier the metal ought to be, especially at the breech, but diminishing
-the thickness, has been proved in no wise to lessen the accuracy. A
-heavy barrel also lessens recoil, but it would be folly to carry more
-weight than would neutralize the recoil which could be produced by a
-greater charge of powder than could be consumed in a given length of
-barrel.
-
-  ~Size of bore.~
-
-The two grand requirements of a soldier’s gun are, celerity of loading,
-combined with accuracy at long ranges; and the distance at which he
-should have the power of firing, should be limited by the strength of
-his eye. The weight of the projectile being fixed (·530 grs.), good
-shooting at extreme distances can only be obtained by reducing the
-diameter of the bore, which, lessening the frontage of the bullet,
-causes it to experience less resistance from the air; it therefore
-retains a higher degree of velocity than a larger bullet of the same
-form and weight, and therefore travels further and faster. Gravity has
-less time to act upon it, in a given distance, and therefore it can be
-fired at a lower angle, or has what we call a lower trajectory, and its
-accuracy is increased in direct proportion to the lowness of its flight,
-all other things being equal.
-
-  ~Best form of rifling still undetermined.~
-
-While the best form, &c., &c., for rifles is not yet determined, there
-are many points upon which the generality of persons seem more agreed,
-viz., reduction of bore to about ¹⁄₂-in. in diameter, fewer grooves,
-shorter barrel, and with increased spirality; at least, one may safely
-say that ideas seem to travel in this direction.
-
-
-ON RIFLE PROJECTILES.
-
-  ~Projectiles used in early guns.~
-
-  ~Elliptical iron bullets 1729.~
-
-We have learned that out of early Artillery were fired bolts, darts,
-bombs, stones and (more recently) iron shot. From the harquebus and
-musket: arrows, darts, quarrels, sprites, iron, and lastly leaden
-spherical balls. Some assert that the idea of lengthened eliptical
-bullets was enunciated so far back as 1729, and that good results
-followed their employment, but it is doubtful whether such really did
-take place.
-
-  ~Leutman.~
-
-Leutman, in his “History of St. Petersburgh,” says that “it is very
-profitable to fire elliptical balls out of rifled arms, particularly
-when they are made to enter by force.”
-
-  ~Robins 1742.~
-
-Robins, in 1742, recommended the use of projectiles of an egg like form,
-(see plate 20, fig. 12), they were to be fired with the heavy end in
-front, to keep the centre of gravity forward.
-
-  ~Beaufoy 1812.~
-
-Colonel Beaufoy, in a work called “Scloppetaria,” 1812, remarks that
-several experiments have been tried with egg-shaped bullets, recommended
-by Robins. It was found, however, that these bullets were subject to
-such occasional random ranges, as completely baffled the judgment of the
-shooters to counteract their irregularity. Their deviations to windward
-most likely arose from the effect of the wind on the after part, which,
-as being the lightest of the two, was driven more to leeward, and
-consequently acted as a rudder to throw the foremost end up to the wind.
-
-  ~Turpin 1770.~
-
-In 1770 Messrs. Turpin tried elongated bullets, at La Fiere, and at
-Metz.
-
-  ~Rifled guns &c., 1776.~
-
-We are informed, in the Annual Register for 1776, and also in the Scots
-Magazine for the same year, that rifled Ordnance were experimented with
-at Languard Fort, &c., &c., in 1774. Dr. Lind, one of the inventors,
-states that to remedy the deflection of shot, “One way is to use bullets
-that are not round but oblong. But in our common guns that are not
-rifled, I know no way to prevent deflection, except you choose to shoot
-with a rifled bullet.”
-
-  ~Elongated projectiles 1789.~
-
-  ~1800 and 1815.~
-
-Elongated Projectiles were tried in the years 2, 6, and 9 of the
-Revolution, by Mons. Guitton de Moreau. They were proposed by Mons.
-Bodeau. In 1800 and 1815 the Prussians tried ellipsodical bullets.
-Colonel Miller, Colonel Carron, Captain Blois, and others, also
-experimented with the cylindro-conical form.
-
-  ~Captain Norton 1824.~
-
-Captain Norton (late 34th Regt.), the original inventor of the
-application of the percussion principle to shells for small arms, in
-1824, completed an elongated rifle shot and shell, the former precisely
-of the form of the Minié bullet, with projections to fit the grooves of
-the barrel.
-
-  ~Mr. Greener 1836.~
-
-Mr. Greener, in 1836, presented an expanding bullet to the Government
-for experiment, (plate 20, fig. 13). It is oval, with a flat end, and
-with a perforation extending nearly through. A taper plug, with a head
-like a round-topped button, is also cast of a composition of lead and
-zinc. The end of the plug being slightly inserted in the perforation,
-the ball is inserted either end foremost. When the explosion takes
-place, the plug is driven home into the lead, expanding the outer
-surface, and thus either filling up the grooves of the rifle, or
-destroying the windage of the musket. The result was favourable beyond
-calculation. Of about 120 shots by way of experiment, a man was able to
-load three times to one of the old musket, and accuracy of range at 350
-yards was as three to one.
-
-  ~Mr Greener’s invention rejected.~
-
-Mr. Greener’s invention was rejected, and the only notice he received
-from the Board was, it being “a compound,” rendered it objectionable!!!
-
-  ~Mr. Greener rewarded.~
-
-The following extract appears in the Estimates of Army Service for
-1857-8. “To William Greener, for the first Public Suggestion of the
-principle of expansion, commonly called the Minié principle for bullets
-in 1836, £1,000.”
-
-  ~Wilkinson 1837.~
-
-  ~Cork plug 1851.~
-
-Many experiments were made by Mr. Wilkinson in 1837, with balls
-precisely similar in shape to the Minié, with a conical hole in them,
-using a wooden plug; and in 1851 experiments were tried at Woolwich with
-a soft elastic cork, fitting the aperture in the projectile very
-closely, the compression of which it was conceived would sufficiently
-expand the cylindrical part, and make it fit the grooves, &c. In some
-instances it succeeded perfectly, but in many the cork was driven
-through the lead.
-
-  ~Gen. Jacobs.~
-
-  ~Form of leaden bullet destroyed.~
-
-  ~Zinc point to bullets.~
-
-Major-General Jacobs for many years carried on a series of experiments
-with rifles, and in 1846 submitted a military rifle, with an elongated
-projectile, for experiments, to the Government at home, and also to that
-in India. It did not meet with approval in England, and the Company cut
-the matter short by stating, that what was good enough for the Royal
-Army was good enough for theirs. There is nothing peculiar in General
-Jacob’s rifle. He recommends an elongated projectile (plate 20, fig. 14)
-solid at the base, cast with four raised flanges to fit into the
-grooves. General Jacobs states, that the desired initial velocity could
-not be produced with a projectile made entirely of lead, as a slight
-increase of charge had the effect of destroying the form of the
-projectile. He also states that the limit of the powers of leaden balls
-having been attained, it became necessary to find a method of
-constructing rifle balls, so that the fore part should be capable of
-sustaining the pressure of large charges of fired gunpowder, without
-change of form, and retain that shape best adapted for overcoming the
-resistance of the air, on which all accurate distant practice depends;
-and at the same time having the part of the ball next the powder
-sufficiently soft and yielding to spread out under its pressure, so as
-to fill the barrel and grooves perfectly air tight. And he professes to
-have solved the problem, by having the fore part of the bullet cast of
-zinc, in a separate mould.
-
-  ~Expansion by hollow bore.~
-
-Captain Delvigne, who had been experimenting since 1828, proposed the
-adoption of lengthened bullets, consisting of a cylinder terminated by a
-cone, which was subsequently replaced by an ogive. He obtained a patent
-dated 21st June, 1841, “For having hollowed out the base of my
-cylindro-conical bullet, to obtain its expansion by the effect of the
-gases produced through the ignition of the powder.”
-
-  ~Hollow in case to throw centre of gravity forward.~
-
-The main object of Captain Delvigne in hollowing the base was, to throw
-the centre of gravity forward; but a Captain Blois, in France, had
-previously tried this important suggestion. Captain Delvigne states, if
-the hollow is too deep, the expansion is too great, and the consequent
-friction enormous; or the gas may pass through the bullet, and leave a
-hollow cylinder of lead within the barrel. Sometimes the gas will
-traverse the sides of the bullet, and consequently the projectile is
-deprived of a proportionate amount of velocity; if too small, the
-expansion does not take place.
-
-  ~Capt. Minié iron cup.~
-
-Captain Minié, an instructor of the School at Vincennes, merely fitted
-into this hollow an iron cup, hoping to prevent the gas forcing its way
-through the bullet, and that the iron pressing upon the lead should
-increase the expansion. (Plate 20, fig. 7).
-
-  ~Groove suppressed.~
-
-A perfect bullet was now supposed to have been discovered, of a
-cylindro-ogival form, (no part was a true cylinder), having a groove
-originally intended to fasten on a greased patch, and in some cases the
-cartridge, but the patch being dispensed with, and the cartridge
-reversed, the groove, supposed to be useless, was suppressed.
-
-  ~Results.~
-
-People were then surprised to find that firing lost much of its
-accuracy, and the groove was replaced; when it was observed that any
-variation in its shape and in its position, materially affected the
-practice. Not only variations in the grooves caused great alteration in
-the accuracy of fire, but any modification bearing on the trunk in rear,
-or on the fore-ogive, altered the conditions of the firing, so that the
-groove became lost in the midst of so many other principles, the
-functions of which were so much unknown. These theoretical
-considerations served, however, as a point of departure for further
-investigations.
-
-  ~Tamisier lengthened bullets.~
-
-Captain Tamisier had not ceased for several years, concentrating his
-attention on the subject. He varied the length of the cylindrical part
-and the angle of the cone, and tried experiments with bullets of 5-in.
-in length, and obtained considerable range, and great accuracy with
-them; the recoil however was excessive, and to use such bullets heavier
-arms, a smaller bore, and other modifications would be necessary.
-
-  ~Centre of gravity formed by blunting tips.~
-
-He endeavoured to carry the centre of gravity to the furthest possible
-point forward, (which Robins suggested 100 years before), but to effect
-this he was compelled to flatten the fore end of the bullet, which had
-the disadvantage of increasing the resistance of the air to the movement
-of projection.
-
-  ~Path rectified by resistance in rear.~
-
-  ~Many cannelures.~
-
-He was then led to another plan for rectifying the path of the bullet
-through each instant of projection, and which was by creating at the
-posterior end, resistances, which should act in case the axis of the
-bullet did not coincide with the direction of motion, and this was
-carried out by cutting upon the cylindrical part, instead of one, as
-many circular grooves of ·28 in depth, as that cylindrical, or rather,
-slightly conical, part could contain. An increased precision in firing
-was the immediate result. (Plate 20, fig 15.)
-
-  ~Shape of cannelures.~
-
-Feeling his way most carefully, Captain Tamisier then made a great
-number of experiments in this direction, and perceived that it was
-important to render the posterior surface of the grooves as sharp as
-possible, so as to augment the action of the air; for these grooves lose
-their shape, owing to the lead, from its malleable nature, yielding
-under the strokes of the ramrod.
-
-  ~Elongated Projectiles, whose Centres of Gravity do not correspond
-  with Centre of Figure.~
-
-  ~Action of the air.~
-
-Elongated projectiles, whose centres of gravity do not exactly coincide
-with the centre of figure, when they do not turn over, tend to preserve
-their axis in the primary direction which was imparted to them, in the
-same manner as an imperfectly feathered arrow flying with little
-velocity, the point of the moving body being constantly above the
-trajectory, and its axis making a certain angle (plate 21, fig 1) with
-the target to the curve. Therefore the part A.B. of the bullet being
-exposed to the direct action of the air’s resistance, the atmospherical
-fluid is compressed on the surface A.B., and rarified upon that of A.C.
-Hence it will be perceived that the compressed fluid supports the moving
-body, and prevents its descending as rapidly as would a spherical
-bullet, which is constructed to meet the same direct resistance from the
-air. This trajectory will therefore be more elongated than that of the
-spherical bullet in question.
-
-  ~Remedied by the grooves.~
-
-  ~Cause of deviation.~
-
-  ~Remedy.~
-
-But the resistance of the air, acting upon the groove of the projectile,
-produces, on the lower part of this groove, an action which tends to
-bring back its point upon the trajectory, yet with so little force, that
-often, in its descent, the projectile turns over, and moves breadthways
-at ranges of 1000 and 1200 yards. The lower side of the projectile,
-therefore, moving in the compressed air, and the upper in the rarified
-air, deviation must ensue, for, as the upper part of the bullet moves
-from left to right, the bottom must move from right to left. But the
-lower resistance to the motion of rotation being produced by the
-friction of the compressed air, is greater than the upper resistance,
-which depends on the friction of the rarified air. By combining these
-two resistances, there results a single force, acting from left to
-right, which produces what Captain Tamisier termed “derivation,” and it
-was to overcome this derivation that this officer proposed the circular
-grooves to the bullet, which he considered would act, like the feathers
-of the arrow, to maintain the moving body in its trajectory.
-
-  ~How to obtain knowledge of the bullet’s rotation.~
-
-  ~By the arrow.~
-
-  ~Use of feathers on arrows.~
-
-If, however, we would wish to obtain some idea of the rotatory motion of
-a bullet in its path through the air, let us consider the action of the
-arrow, and see how it is constructed, so that the resistance of the air
-should not act in an unfavourable manner. First, nearly all its weight
-is concentrated at the point, so that its centre of gravity is close to
-it. At the opposite end feathers are placed, the heaviest of which does
-not affect the centre of gravity, but gives rise to an amount of
-resistance in rear of the projectile, and which prevents its ever taking
-a motion of rotation perpendicular to its longer axis, and keeps it in
-the direction of its projection. This difficulty which the arrow finds
-in changing its direction must concur in preventing its descending so
-rapidly as it would do were it only to obey the law of gravity, and must
-therefore render its trajectory more uniform.
-
-  ~Similar effects on bullet with grooves.~
-
-Let us, however, now come back to the grooves of Mons. Tamisier, and we
-shall find that they concur in giving to the bullet the two actions of
-the resistance of the air, which we have demonstrated with respect to
-the arrow.
-
-  ~Effect of grooves.~
-
-Suppose that such a bullet describes the trajectory M, and A.B. be the
-position of its axis, it will be seen that the lower part of the bullet
-re-establishes the air compressed, whilst the upper part finds itself in
-the rarified air. That, consequently the lower parts of the cannelures
-are submitted to the direct action of the air’s resistance, whilst their
-upper parts totally escape this action. (Plate 21, fig. 2). The
-resultant of the air’s resistance evidently tends to bring back the
-point of the moving body, according to the trajectory; but as this
-action is produced by the pressure of an elastic fluid, it results that
-the point B, after having been an instant upon the trajectory, will fall
-below, in virtue of the velocity acquired; but then the upper grooves
-finding themselves acted on by the action of the air’s resistance, this
-action, joined to its weight, will force the point of the projectile
-upwards, which will descend to come up again, so that the projectile
-will have throughout its flight a vertical swing, which is seen
-distinctly enough in arrows.
-
-  ~Union of Robins and Tamisier.~
-
-Let us connect the suggestion of Robins, with the experiments of Captain
-Tamisier, to cause the posterior end to act as a rudder to guide the
-projectile in its true path, as undoubtedly during the descent of a
-bullet there is a tendency for the centre of gravity to fall first, as
-the ball of the shuttlecock. In the first Prussian balls, and in those
-used in the Tige, the centre of gravity being nearer the base, the rear
-end of these balls have a tendency to fall before the foremost, but this
-is most undoubtedly counteracted by grooves, while it would be
-impossible to fire an elongated projectile with its centre of gravity
-backwards, with any accuracy out of a smooth-bored gun.
-
-  ~Cannelures improved shooting.~
-
-  ~Why none in English bullet.~
-
-Captain Jervis says that these grooves have the effect of improving the
-accuracy of firing when the bullets are not perfectly homogeneous, is
-certain, but the British Committee on small arms justly considered that
-owing to the careful way in which the bullets are made in England by
-compression, these grooves might be dispensed with.
-
-  ~Variety of forms.~
-
-  ~Auxiliaries to expansion, various.~
-
-Almost every conceivable form of projectile, internal and external, have
-been made and experimented upon. Auxiliaries to expansion have been
-used, made of metal, horn, wood, and leather, with plugs, screws, or
-cups of divers shapes. Cannelures are used, of varying forms, depth and
-number.
-
-  ~Rotation from smooth bores.~
-
-It has even been attempted to construct bullets upon the screw
-principle, so that the projectile should receive spirality from the
-action of the air upon its outer or inner surface, when fired out of a
-smooth bore musket.
-
-  ~General characteristics of modern rifles.~
-
-The general characteristics of the European rifles, up to 1850, are a
-very large calibre, a comparatively light short barrel, with a quick
-twist, _i.e._, about one turn in three feet, sometimes using a patch,
-and sometimes not, the bullet circular, and its front part flattened by
-starting and ramming down.
-
-  ~American alterations.~
-
-It appears that the introduction of additional weight in the barrel,
-reduction in the size of the calibre, the constant use of the patch, a
-slower twist, generally one turn in 6ft., combined with (what is now
-known to be a detriment) great length of barrel, are exclusively
-American.
-
-  ~Picket bullet.~
-
-A round ended picket (plate 20, fig. 16), was occasionally used in some
-parts of the States, until the invention of Mr. Allen Clarke, of the
-flat ended picket, which allows a much greater charge of powder,
-producing greater velocity, and consequently less variation in a side
-wind.
-
-  ~On the comparative merits of rifles.~
-
-  ~Points in a perfect rifle.~
-
-A rifle may perform first rate at short ranges, and fail entirely at
-long, while a rifle which will fire well at extreme ranges can never
-fail of good shooting at short. In fact certain calibres, &c., &c., &c.,
-perform best at certain distances, and in the combinations of a perfect
-rifle there are certain points to be attended to, or the weapon will be
-deficient and inferior.
-
-  ~Velocity.~
-
-It is desirable to give a bullet as much velocity as it can safely be
-started with, and the limit is the recoil of the gun, and the liability
-of the bullets to be upset or destroyed, for as soon as this upsetting
-takes place, the performance becomes inferior, and the circle of error
-enlarged.
-
-  ~Degree of twist.~
-
-It is clear that a bullet projected with sufficient twist to keep it
-steady in boisterous and windy weather, must of necessity have more
-twist than is actually necessary in a still favourable time; hence a
-rifle for general purposes, should always have too much twist rather
-than too little.
-
-  ~Weight of bullet.~
-
-The weight of the bullet must be proportioned to the distance it is
-intended to be projected with the greatest accuracy; for it is a law,
-that with bodies of the same densities, small ones lose their momentum
-sooner than large ones. It would be madness to use a bullet ninety to
-the pound at nine hundred yards, merely because it performed first rate
-at two hundred yards; or a forty to the pound at two hundred yards,
-because it performed well at nine hundred yards. The reason is that a
-forty to the pound cannot be projected with as much velocity at two
-hundred yards, as the ninety to the pound can, because the ninety uses
-more powder in proportion to the weight of the bullet than the forty
-does. Again, the heavier bullet performs better than the lighter one at
-nine hundred yards, simply because the momentum of the light ball is
-nearly expended at so long a range as nine hundred yards, and its
-rotatory motion is not enough to keep it in the true line of its flight,
-whereas a heavy bullet, having from its weight more momentum, preserves
-for a longer distance the twist and velocity with which it started.
-
-  ~Calibre.~
-
-As weight of projectile is a leading element in obtaining accuracy at
-long ranges, and as the weight cannot be increased beyond a certain
-limit in small arm ammunition, hence a small bore is an indispensable
-requisite for a perfect rifle.
-
-  ~Result of Mr. Whitworth’s experiments.~
-
-In the foregoing brief summary of the most important properties which
-should be possessed by a first class rifle, we have dealt in
-generalities, but we shall now record the experience of Mr. Whitworth,
-who has entered into the most minute details, and has pointed out the
-harmony which should subsist between the twist, bore, &c., and the
-projectile, in the combinations of a perfect rifle.
-
-  ~Bore and weight limited.~
-
-Premising, that when Mr. Whitworth was solicited by the late honored
-Lord Hardinge to render the aid of his mechanical genius to the
-improvement or perfecting a military weapon, he was restricted as to
-length of barrel, viz., 3 feet 3-in., and weight of bullet, ·530 grains.
-We shall now proceed and use Mr. Whitworth’s words.
-
-  ~Consideration for curve.~
-
-“Having noticed the form (hexagonal) of the interior which provides the
-best rifling surfaces, the next thing to be considered is the proper
-curve which rifled barrels ought to possess, in order to give the
-projectile the necessary degree of rotation.”
-
-  ~Hexagonal form admits of quick turn.~
-
-“With the hexagonal barrel, I use much quicker turn and can fire
-projectiles of any required length, as with the quickest that may be
-desirable they do not ‘strip.’ I made a short barrel with one turn in
-the inch (simply to try the effect of an extreme velocity of rotation)
-and found that I could fire from it mechanically--fitting projectiles
-made of an alloy of lead and tin, with a charge of 35 grains of powder
-they penetrated through seven inches of elm planks.”
-
-  ~Degree of spiral fixed.~
-
-  ~Diameter of bore determined.~
-
-After many experiments, in order to determine the diameter for the bore
-and degree of spirality, Mr. Whitworth adds: “For an ordinary military
-barrel, 39 inches long, I proposed a ·45-inch bore, with one turn in 20
-inches, which is in my opinion the best for this length. The rotation is
-sufficient with a bullet of the requisite specific gravity, for a range
-of 2000 yards.” Under these conditions the projectiles on leaving the
-gun would be about two and a half diameters of the bore in length. “The
-gun responds to every increase of charge, by firing with lower
-elevation, from the service charge of 70 grains up to 120 grains; this
-latter charge is the largest that can be effectively consumed, and the
-recoil then becomes more than the shoulder can conveniently bear with
-the weight of the service musket.
-
-  ~Advocates of slow turn.~
-
-  ~Effects of quick turn.~
-
-“The advocates of the slow turn of one in 6 feet 6 inches, consider that
-a quick turn causes so much friction as to impede the progress of the
-ball to an injurious and sometimes dangerous degree, and to produce loss
-of elevation and range; but my experiments show the contrary to be the
-case. The effect of too quick a turn, as to friction, is felt in the
-greatest degree when the projectile has attained its highest velocity in
-the barrel, that is at the muzzle, and is felt in the least degree when
-the projectile is beginning to move, at the breech. The great strain put
-upon a gun at the instant of explosion is due, not to the resistance of
-friction, but to the _vis inertiæ_ of the projectile which has to be
-overcome. In a long barrel, with an extremely quick turn, the resistance
-offered to the progress of the projectile is very great at the muzzle,
-and although moderate charges give good results, the rifle will not
-respond to increased charges by giving a better elevation. If the barrel
-be cut shorter, an increase of charge then lowers the elevation.”
-
-  ~Objections to increasing spiral.~
-
-“The use of an increasing or varying turn is obviously injurious, for
-besides altering the shape of the bullet, it causes increased resistance
-at the muzzle, the very place where relief is wanted.”
-
-  ~Length and spiral increased.~
-
-  ~Diameter decreased.~
-
-  ~Trajectory lowered.~
-
-“Finding that all difficulty arising from length of projectiles, is
-overcome by giving sufficient rotation, and that any weight that may be
-necessary can be obtained by adding to the length, I adopted for the
-bullet of the service weight, an increased length, and a reduced
-diameter, and obtained a comparatively low trajectory; less elevation is
-required, and the path of the projectile lies more nearly in a straight
-line, making it more likely to hit any object of moderate height within
-range, and rendering mistakes in judging distances of less moment. The
-time of flight being shortened, the projectile is very much less
-deflected by the action of the wind.”
-
-  ~Proper powder for expanding bullets.~
-
-  ~Powder for hardened bullets.~
-
-  ~Consequences of imperfect expansion.~
-
-  ~Advantages of hexagonal form.~
-
-“It is most important to observe that with all expanding bullets proper
-powder must be employed. In many cases this kind of bullet has failed,
-owing to the use of a slowly igniting powder, which is desirable for a
-hard metal projectile, as it causes less strain upon the piece, but is
-unsuitable with a soft metal expanding projectile, for which a quickly
-igniting powder is absolutely requisite to insure a complete expansion,
-which will fill the bore. Unless this is done the gases rush past the
-bullet between it and the barrel, the latter becomes foul, the bullet is
-distorted, and the shooting must be bad. If the projectiles used be made
-of the same hexagonal shape externally as the bore of the barrel
-internally, that is, with a mechanical fit, metals of all degrees of
-hardness, from lead, or lead and tin, up to hardened steel may be
-employed, and slowly igniting powder, like that of the service may be
-employed.”
-
-  ~Mr. Whitworth’s claims.~
-
-Mr. Whitworth does not lay claim to any originality as inventor of the
-polygonal system, but merely brings it forward, as the most certain mode
-of securing spiral motion, but he deserves to be honored by all
-Riflemen, as having established the degree of spirality, the diameter of
-bore, to ensure the best results from a given weight of lead, and length
-of barrel.
-
-
-CONCLUSION.
-
-In achieving the important position obtained by the rifle in the present
-day, it has nevertheless effected no more than was predicted of it by
-Leutman, the Academician of St. Petersburg, in 1728, by Euler, Borda,
-and Gassendi, and by our eminent but hitherto forgotten countryman
-Robins, who in 1747, urgently called the attention of the Government and
-the public to the importance of this description of fire-arm as a
-military weapon.
-
-In the War of American Independence, the rifle, there long established
-as the national arm for the chase, exhibited its superiority as a _war_
-arm also, in so sensible a manner, that we were constrained to oppose to
-the American hunters the subsidised Riflemen of Hesse, Hanover, and
-Denmark.
-
-  ~Robins’ prophecy.~
-
-We shall close by quoting the last words in “Robins’ Tracts of Gunnery.”
-
-“Whatever State shall thoroughly comprehend the nature and advantages of
-rifled barrel pieces, and having facilitated and completed their
-construction, shall introduce into their armies their _general_ use with
-a _dexterity_ in the _management_ of them; they will by this means
-acquire a superiority, which will almost equal anything that has been
-done at any time by the particular excellence of any one kind of arms;
-and will perhaps fall but little short of the wonderful effects which
-histories relate to have been formerly produced by the first inventors
-of fire-arms.”
-
-  NOTE.--The preceding articles on the Rifle, Rifling, and Rifle
-  Projectiles are mainly compiled from: “New Principles of Gunnery, by
-  Robins,” “Scloppetaria,” “Remarks on National Defence, by Col. the
-  Hon. A. Gordon,” “Dean’s Manual of Fire Arms,” “Rifle Ammunition, by
-  Capt. A. Hawes,” “Rifles and Rifle Practice, by C. M. Wilcox,” “Papers
-  on Mechanical Subjects, by Whitworth,” “The Rifle Musket, by Capt.
-  Jarvis, Royal Artillery,” “Des Armes Rayees, by H. Mangeot,” “Cours
-  Elementaire sur les Armes Portatives, by F. Gillion,” and “Cours sur
-  les Armes a feu Portatives, by L. Panot.”
-
-
-
-
-THEORETICAL PRINCIPLES.
-
-
-DEFINITIONS.
-
-  ~Matter.~
-
-Matter,--everything which has weight.
-
-  ~Body.~
-
-Body,--a portion of matter limited in every direction.
-
-  ~Mass.~
-
-Mass,--the quantity of matter in any body.
-
-  ~Particle.~
-
-Particle,--or material point, is a body of evanescent magnitude, and
-bodies of finite magnitude are said to be made up of an indefinite
-number of particles, or material points.
-
-  ~Inertia.~
-
-Inertia,--passiveness or inactivity.
-
-  ~Attraction.~
-
-Attraction,--a fundamental law of nature, that every particle of matter
-has a tendency to be attracted towards another particle.
-
-  ~Density.~
-
-Density,--is in proportion to the closeness of the particles to each
-other.
-
-  ~Volume.~
-
-Volume,--the space bounded by the exterior surface of a body, is its
-apparent volume or size.
-
-  ~Elasticity.~
-
-Elasticity,--a body that yields to pressure, and recovers its figure
-again; hence air and gasses are elastic bodies; lead a non-elastic body.
-
-  ~Motion.~
-
-Motion,--is the changing of place, or the opposite to a state of rest.
-
-  ~Velocity.~
-
-Velocity,--is the rate of motion; there are four rates of motion, viz.,
-Uniform, Variable, Accelerated, and Retarded.
-
-  ~1st. Uniform.~
-
-1st. Uniform,--when a particle traverses equal distances, in any equal
-successive portion of time.
-
-  ~2nd. Variable.~
-
-2nd. Variable,--when the spaces passed over in equal times, are unequal.
-
-  ~3rd. Accelerated.~
-
-3rd. Accelerated,--when the distances traversed in equal times are
-successively greater and greater.
-
-  ~4th. Retarded.~
-
-4th. Retarded,--when the distances traversed in equal times are
-successively less and less.
-
-Acceleration or Retardation, may also be equal or unequal, that is
-uniform or variable.
-
-  ~Friction.~
-
-Friction,--arises from the irregularities of the surfaces which act upon
-one another.
-
-  ~Force.~
-
-Force,--any cause which produces, or tends to produce a change in the
-state of rest, or of motion of a particle of matter.
-
-  ~Measure of force.~
-
-Forces are measured by comparison with weights. Thus any forces which
-will bend a spring into the same positions as weights of 1lb., 2lbs.,
-3lbs., &c., are called respectively forces of 1lb., 2lbs., 3lbs., &c.,
-&c.
-
-  ~Momentum.~
-
-Momentum,--or quantity of motion. If a body moving at first with a
-certain velocity is afterwards observed to move with double or triple
-this velocity, the quantity of motion of the body is conceived to be
-doubled or tripled, hence the momentum of a body, depends upon its
-velocity, as the quantity of motion of a body is the product of the
-velocity by the mass or weight.
-
-  ~Laws of motion.~
-
-The elementary principles upon which are based all our reasonings
-respecting the motions of bodies, are called the “Laws of Motion,” and
-as arranged by Sir Isaac Newton, are three in number.
-
-  ~1st Law.~
-
-1st. A particle at rest will continue for ever at rest, and a particle
-in motion will continue in motion uniformly forward in a straight line,
-until it be acted upon by some extraneous force.
-
-  ~2nd Law.~
-
-2nd. When any force acts upon a body in motion, the change of motion
-which it produces is proportional to the force impressed, and in the
-direction of that force.
-
-  ~3rd Law.~
-
-3rd. Action and reaction are equal, and in contrary directions. In all
-cases the quantity of motion gained by one body is always equal to that
-lost by the other in the same direction. Thus, if a ball in motion,
-strikes another at rest, the motion communicated to the latter will be
-taken from the former, and the velocity of the former be proportionately
-diminished.
-
-  ~Centre of Gravity.~
-
-Centre of Gravity,--is that point at which the whole weight of the body
-may be considered to act, and about which consequently, the body, when
-subjected to the force of gravity only, will balance in all positions.
-
-  ~Specific Gravity.~
-
-Specific Gravity,--the weight belonging to an equal bulk of every
-different substance, and is estimated by the quantities of matter when
-the bulks are the same; or in other words, it is the density that
-constitutes the specific gravity. It is agreed to make pure rain-water
-the standard, to which they refer the comparative weights of all other
-bodies. Lead is about eleven times the weight of the same bulk of water.
-
-  ~Initial Velocity.~
-
-Initial Velocity is the velocity which a bullet possesses on leaving the
-muzzle of a gun; and in the speaking of the velocity of bullets fired
-from the musket now used, you understand 1200 feet per second, for the
-Initial Velocity.
-
-  ~Angular Velocity.~
-
-Angular Velocity is the velocity with which the circular arc is
-described; and depends upon the perpendicular distance of the point from
-the axis of rotation.
-
-  ~Terminal Velocity.~
-
-Terminal Velocity: if a cannon ball were to be let fall from a very
-great height, it would by the law of gravity, descend with accelerated
-motion towards the earth, but as the resistance of the air increases as
-the squares of velocities, a point would be reached when the resistance
-would be equal to the force of gravity, from whence it would fall to the
-earth in uniform motion.
-
-  ~Eccentric Body.~
-
-An Eccentric Body, is one whose centre of figure does not correspond
-with the centre of gravity.
-
-
-MOTION OF A PROJECTILE.
-
-  ~Modified by Gravity and air.~
-
-If no force were acting upon the projectile, except the explosive force
-of gunpowder, it would by the first law of motion, move on for ever in
-the line in which it was discharged; this motion is modified by the
-action of two forces, viz., gravity and the resistance of the air.
-
-As the early cannons were of the rudest construction, and were used only
-to force open barriers, or to be employed against troops at a very short
-range, it was a matter of secondary consideration what course the bullet
-took, indeed it was generally believed, that it flew for some distance
-in a straight line, and then dropped suddenly. Acting upon this opinion
-we find that most of the early cannon had a large metal ring at the
-muzzle, so as to render it the same size as at the breech, and with such
-as were not of this construction they made use of a wooden foresight
-which tied on to the muzzle, so as to make the line of sight parallel to
-the axis, by which they conceived that they might aim more directly at
-the object which the bullet was designed to hit.
-
-  ~Leonardo da Vinci, 1452.~
-
-The first author who wrote professedly on the flight of a cannon shot
-was a celebrated Italian Mathematician, named Leonardo da Vinci, who
-explains his manner of studying phenomena, in order to arrive at safe
-conclusions, thus: “I will treat of the subject, but first of all I will
-make some experiments, because my intention is to quote experience, and
-then to show why bodies are found to act in a certain manner;” and
-taking as his motto, “Science belongs to the Captain, practice to the
-Soldier,” he boldly asks: “If a bombard throws various distances with
-various elevations, I ask in what part of its range will be the greatest
-angle of elevation?” The sole answer is a small drawing of three curves,
-(plate 20, fig. 3.), the greatest range being the curve about midway
-between the perpendicular and the horizontal. Yet this small drawing is
-very remarkable when we come to examine it. In the first place, we see
-that he recognises the fact that the trajectory is a curve throughout
-its length; secondly, that a shot fired perpendicularly will not fall
-again on the spot whence it was fired. Simple as they may seem, these
-two propositions recognise the force of gravity, resistance of the air,
-and the rotary motion of the earth.
-
-  ~Tartaglia, 1537.~
-
-The next author who wrote on the flight of cannon shot was another
-celebrated Italian Mathematician, named Tartaglia. In the year 1537, and
-afterwards in 1546, he published several works relating to the theory of
-those motions, and although the then imperfect state of mechanics
-furnished him with very fallacious principles to proceed on, yet he was
-not altogether unsuccessful in his enquiries, for he determined
-(contrary to the opinion of practitioners) that no part of the track of
-a bullet was in a straight line, although he considered that the
-curvature in some cases was so little, as not to be attended to,
-comparing it to the surface of the sea, which, although it appears to be
-a plain, when practically considered, is yet undoubtedly incurvated
-round the centre of the earth. It was only by an accident he nearly
-stumbled upon one truth in the theory of projectiles, when he stated
-that the greatest range obtained by equal forces is at 45°. Calculating
-that at the angle 0° the trajectory was null, that by raising the
-trajectory, the range increased up to a certain point, afterwards
-diminished, and finally became null again when the projective force
-acted perpendicularly, he concluded that the greatest range must be a
-medium between these two points, and consequently at 45°.
-
-Others thought that a shot, on leaving the muzzle, described a straight
-line; that after a certain period its motion grew slower, and then that
-it described a curve, caused by the forces of projection and gravity;
-finally, that it fell perpendicularly. Tartaglia seems to have
-originated the notion that the part of the curve which joined the
-oblique line to the perpendicular, was the arc of a circle tangent to
-one and the other.
-
-  ~Galileo, 1638.~
-
-In the year 1638, Galileo, also an Italian, printed his dialogues, in
-which he was the first to describe the real effect of gravity on falling
-bodies; on these principles he determined, that the flight of a cannon
-shot, or of any other projectile, would be in the curve of a parabola,
-unless it was deviated from this track by the resistance of the air. A
-parabola is a figure formed by cutting a cone, with a plain parallel to
-the side of the cone.
-
-
-GRAVITY.
-
-  ~Bullet as influenced by powder and gravity only.~
-
-We will now proceed to consider the course of a bullet, as affected by
-_two_ forces only, viz., 1st. The velocity communicated to it by the
-explosion of the powder; and 2nd. By the force of Gravity.
-
-The attraction of the earth acts on all bodies in proportion to their
-quantities of matter.
-
-  ~If no air, all bodies would fall in same time.~
-
-  ~Gold and dry leaf in same time.~
-
-The difference of time observable in the fall of bodies through the air,
-is due to the resistance of that medium, whence we may fairly conclude,
-that if the air was altogether absent, and no other resisting medium
-occupied its place, all bodies of whatever size, and of whatever weight,
-must descend with the same speed. Under such circumstances, a balloon
-and the smoke of the fire would descend, instead of ascending as they
-do, by the pressure of the air, which, bulk for bulk, is heavier than
-themselves. A dry leaf falls very slowly, and a piece of gold very
-rapidly, but if the gold be beaten into a thin leaf, the time of its
-descent is greatly prolonged. If a piece of metal and a feather are let
-fall at the same instant from the top of a tall exhausted receiver, it
-will be found that these two bodies, so dissimilar in weight, will
-strike the table of the air-pump, on which the receiver stands, at the
-same instant. Supposing the air did not offer any resistance to the
-onward course of a projectile, and that the instantaneous force
-communicated to a bullet, from the explosion of the gunpowder, were to
-project it in the line A.B. (plate 21, fig. 4.) from the point A., with
-a velocity that will send it in the first second of time as far as C.,
-then if there were no other force to affect it, it would continue to
-move in the same direction B., and with the same velocity, and at the
-next second it would have passed over another space, C.D., equal to
-A.C., so that in the third second it would have reached E., keeping
-constantly in the same straight line.
-
-  ~Bullet under two forces, powder and gravity.~
-
-But no sooner does the bullet quit the muzzle, than it immediately comes
-under the influence of another force, called the force of gravity, which
-differs from the force caused by the explosion of the powder, which
-ceases to influence the bullet, after it has once communicated to it its
-velocity.
-
-  ~An accelerating force.~
-
-  ~Effect of gravity.~
-
-Gravity is an accelerating force, acting constantly upon, and causing
-the bullet to move towards the earth, with a velocity increasing with
-the length of time the bullet is exposed to its influence. It has been
-found from experiment that this increase of velocity will cause a body
-to move through spaces, in proportion to the squares of the time taken
-to pass over the distance. Thus, if a body falls a given space in one
-second, in two it will have fallen over a space equal to four times what
-it fell through in the first second, and in the three first seconds it
-will have fallen through a space equal to nine times that which it fell
-through in the first second.
-
-  ~Result of gravity.~
-
-  ~Course of the bullet.~
-
-The consequence of this principle is, that all bodies of similar figure,
-and equal density, at equal distances from the earth, fall with equal
-velocity; and if a body describes a space of 16ft. in the first second
-of time, it will, in the next second of time, fall _three_ times 16, or
-48 feet, and thus will have fallen, from the time it first dropped, four
-times 16 feet, or 64 feet, because 4 is the square of 2, the time the
-body was falling. In the third second, it will fall 5 times 16 feet, or
-80 feet, and these sums collectively, viz., 16 + 48 + 80 = 144 feet, the
-whole distance described by the falling body in three seconds of time.
-
-From this it is evident, that instead of moving in a straight line A.
-B., (plate 21, fig. 5.), the bullet will be drawn from that course.
-
-  ~Parabolic theory.~
-
-From the point C., draw C. F., equal to the space that the bullet may be
-supposed to fall in one second of time, then at the end of the first
-second of time the bullet will be at F., instead of at C., and will have
-moved in the direction A. F., instead of A. C.; at the end of the next
-second it will have fallen a total distance D. G., equal to four times
-C. F., thus the bullet will have fallen at the end of the third second a
-distance E. H., equal to nine times C. F., and it will have moved in the
-line A. F. G. H. instead of the straight line A. B., in which it would
-have moved, had it not been affected by the force of gravity. The curve
-A. H., is of the form called a Parabola, and hence the theory is called
-the “Parabolic Theory.” It is founded on the principle that the velocity
-given to the bullet by the explosion of the gunpowder is continued
-throughout its course, but this would only be true in vacuo, and is
-therefore of little value in calculating the real course of the bullet
-in the air.
-
-
-ON THE TIME TAKEN TO DRAW A BALL TO THE GROUND BY THE FORCE OF GRAVITY.
-
-  ~If fired with axis parallel to the ground.~
-
-1st Case. Supposing a ball to be fired when the axis of the piece is
-parallel to the ground and 16 feet above it, then the projectile will
-strike the earth in the same length of time that it would have done, had
-it been rolled out of the muzzle, quite irrespective of the velocity
-with which it may have been propelled, or the consequent extent of
-range; that is to say the ball will have reached the point B., (plate
-22, fig. 1.), in the same length of time that it would require to fall
-from the muzzle A., to the earth C.; _i. e._, in one second.
-
-2nd Case. Were three guns to be fired at the same instant, with their
-three axes parallel to the horizon as before, and loaded respectively
-with ¹⁄₂ drm., 1 drm., and 1¹⁄₂ drm. of powder of the same strength,
-then, although the three initial velocities and three ranges would
-consequently all be different, yet the three balls would strike the
-ground at the same time, _i. e._ at the points B. B. B. in one second.
-(Plate 22, fig. 2.)
-
-  ~If axis at an angle to the ground.~
-
-3rd Case. When a ball is fired at an angle of elevation it will reach
-the earth in the same length of time which it would occupy in falling
-the length of the tangent of the angle of projection; hence supposing F.
-G. (plate 22, fig. 3.) to be 16 feet, the ball would reach the point G.
-in one second, irrespective of the distance from D. to G.
-
-
-ATMOSPHERE.
-
-Let us now take into our consideration the course of a projectile while
-under the influence of _three_ forces, viz., powder, gravity, and air.
-
-  ~Why named.~
-
-The atmosphere, or sphere of gases, is the general name applied to the
-whole gaseous portion of this planet, as the term ocean is applied to
-its liquid, and land to its solid portions.
-
-Being much lighter than either land or water, it necessarily floats or
-rests upon them, and is in sufficient quantity to cover the highest
-mountains, and to rise nine or ten times their height, to about 45 miles
-above the sea level, so as to form a layer over the whole surface,
-averaging probably between forty and fifty miles in thickness, which is
-about as thick, in proportion to the globe, as the liquid layer adhering
-to the surface of an orange, after it had been dipped in water.
-
-  ~Composition of air.~
-
-It consists essentially of two gases, called oxygen and nitrogen, and
-also contains a variable quantity of aqueous vapour.
-
-  ~Qualities of air.~
-
-In common with matter in every state, the air possesses impenetrability.
-It can be compressed, but cannot be annihilated. It has weight, inertia,
-momentum, and elasticity.
-
-In consequence of its weight is its pressure, which acts uniformly on
-all bodies, and is equal to between 14lbs. and 15lbs. on every square
-inch of surface at the sea-level.
-
-  ~Early idea of air’s resistance.~
-
-  ~How air acts.~
-
-The first experiments that were made on projectiles, were carried out on
-the idea that the resistance of the air would not materially affect the
-track of a bullet which had great velocity. But the moment a body is
-launched into space, it meets with particles of the air at every instant
-of its movement, to which it yields part of its velocity, and the air
-being a constant force, the velocity of the body decreases at every
-instant from the commencement of its motion.
-
-
-RESULT OF THE AIR’S RESISTANCE.
-
-  ~Robins, 1742, showed effect of air’s resistance.~
-
-  ~Course of ball was not a parabola.~
-
-  ~Why not a parabola.~
-
-It remained for Robins, 1742, in a work then published, to show the real
-effect of the atmosphere upon moving bodies. He proved by actual
-experiment, that a 24lb. shot did not range the fifth part of the
-distance it should have done according to the parabolic theory. If a
-cannon shot moved in a parabolic curve, then from the known properties
-of that curve, it was evident that when fired with elevation, the angle
-of descent of the bullet should have been the same as the angle at which
-it was projected, and this he showed was not the case in practice. Now
-Robins acknowledged the opinion of Galileo, as regards the force of
-gravity, to be correct; he could not therefore attribute to him any
-miscalculation on the score of gravity. He therefore concluded, that the
-error of the “parabolic theory” arose from the supposition that the
-bullet continued to move at the same velocity throughout its course.
-
-  ~Ballistic pendulum.~
-
-Robins tried a series of experiments by firing at a ballistic pendulum
-at different distances; the oscillation of this pendulum enabled him to
-calculate the velocity of the bullet, at the time it struck the
-pendulum, and by this means he ascertained, that according to his
-expectations, the bullet moved slower in proportion as it became more
-distant from the point at which it was fired. This diminution he
-attributed to the resistance of the air.
-
-  ~Trajectory more curved than a parabola.~
-
-From these considerations it is evident that instead of moving over
-equal spaces A. C., C. D., D. E., (plate 22, fig. 4), at each succeeding
-second of time, it will require considerably longer to traverse each
-succeeding distance, and the force of gravity will consequently have
-longer time to act upon it, and will have the effect of lowering the
-bullet much more than it would do according to the “parabolic theory;”
-moreover it is evident, that as the velocity of the bullet diminishes,
-the trajectory or path followed by the bullet, will become still more
-incurvated.
-
-Having now proved the error of the “parabolic theory,” Robins began his
-endeavours to calculate the actual course of the bullet, according to
-this new theory which he had demonstrated, but this calculation was
-necessarily attended with great difficulties, for in so doing a number
-of circumstances had to be considered.
-
-  ~Resultant.~
-
-The resultant of the three forces acting on a projectile, (plate 23,
-fig. 1), viz., gunpowder, gravity, and the resistance of the air, is a
-motal force, diminishing in velocity at every instant, causing the
-projectile to describe a curved line in its flight, the incipient point
-of the curve lying in the axis of the bore of the piece, and its
-continuation diverging in the direction of the attraction of gravity,
-till the projectile obeys the latter force alone.
-
-
-EXPERIMENTS IN FRANCE.
-
-  ~Angle for greatest range.~
-
-  ~Velocity.~
-
-It is stated by Captain Jervis, R.A., in the “Rifle Musket,” that “From
-experiments made in France, it has been found that the greatest range of
-the common percussion musket, with spherical bullet fired with the
-regulation charge, was at 25°; yet, by theoretical calculation, it
-should be 45°; also that the usual velocity was some 500 yards per
-second, whilst in vacuum it would be 19,792 yards per second.
-
-  ~Elevation giving certain range.~
-
-“At an angle of from 4° to 5°, the real range was about 640 yards;
-without the resistance of the air, and at an angle of 4¹⁄₂°, it would be
-3,674, or six times greater.”
-
-
-ON THE EFFECT OF THE RESISTANCE OF THE AIR UPON THE MOTION OF A
-PROJECTILE.
-
-  ~The effect of the air’s resistance upon the motion of a projectile.~
-
-The effect of the resistance of the atmosphere to the motion of a
-projectile, is a subject of the greatest importance in gunnery. It has
-engaged the attention of the most eminent philosophers, and on account
-of the great difficulty of determining by experiment, the correctness of
-any particular hypothesis, much difference of opinion is entertained as
-to the absolute effect of this retarding force upon bodies moving in the
-atmosphere with great velocities; and although sufficient is known to
-guide the practical artillerist in that art to which he is devoted,
-still as a scientific question, it is one of considerable interest, but
-more on account of the difficulty of its solution, than from its
-practical importance.
-
-  ~Mr. Robins’ discoveries.~
-
-To our distinguished countryman, Mr. Benjamin Robins, is due the credit
-of not only being the first practically to determine the enormous effect
-of the resistance of the air in retarding the motions of military
-projectiles, but also of pointing out and experimentally proving other
-facts with regard to this resistance, which will be noticed when
-considering the subject of the deviation of shot from the intended
-direction.
-
-  ~Result of Dr. Hutton’s experiments.~
-
-After him, Dr. Hutton made a great number of experiments upon the same
-point, viz., the effect of the resistance of the air upon bodies moving
-in that medium, both with great and small velocities; and the inferences
-which he drew from these experiments, although not absolutely true, are
-sufficiently correct for all practical purposes.
-
-
-ON THE RESISTANCE OF A FLUID TO A BODY IN MOTION.
-
-  ~Circumstances affecting the resistance which a body meets with in its
-  motion in a fluid.~
-
-The resistance which a body meets with in its motion through a fluid
-will depend upon three principal causes, viz:--
-
-1st. Its velocity, and the form and magnitude of the surface opposed to
-the fluid.
-
-2nd. Upon the density and tenacity of the fluid or cohesion of its
-particles, and also upon the friction which will be caused by the
-roughness of the surface of the body.
-
-3rd. Upon the degree of compression to which this fluid, supposed to be
-perfectly elastic, is subjected, upon which will depend the rapidity
-with which it will close in and fill the space behind the body in
-motion.
-
-  ~The resistance of a fluid to a body as the squares of the
-  velocities.~
-
-Firstly, with regard to the velocity of the body. It is evident that a
-plane moving through a fluid in a direction perpendicular to its
-surface, must impart to the particles of the fluid with which it comes
-in contact, a velocity equal to its own; and, consequently, from this
-cause alone, the resistances would be as the velocities; but the number
-of particles struck in a certain time being also as the velocities, from
-these two causes combined, the resistance of a fluid to a body in
-motion, arising from the inertia of the particles of the fluid, will be
-as the square of the velocity.
-
-  ~Cohesion of the particles of a fluid, and friction.~
-
-Secondly, a body moving in a fluid must overcome the force of cohesion
-of those parts which are separated, and the friction, both which are
-independent of the velocity. The total resistance then, from cohesion,
-friction, and inertia, will be partly constant and partly as the square
-of the velocity.
-
-  ~Result.~
-
-The resistances therefore are as the squares of the velocities in the
-same fluid, and as the squares of the velocities multiplied by the
-densities in different fluids.
-
-Hitherto, however, we have imagined a fluid which does not exist in
-nature; that is to say, a _discontinued_ fluid, or one which has its
-particles separated and _unconnected_, and also perfectly non-elastic.
-
-  ~Atmosphere, and its properties bearing on the question of its
-  resistance.~
-
-Now, in the atmosphere, no one particle that is contiguous to the body
-can be moved without moving a great number of others, some of which will
-be distant from it. If the fluid be much compressed, and the velocity of
-the moving body much less than that with which the particles of the
-fluid will rush into vacuum in consequence of the compression, it is
-clear that the space left by the moving body will be almost
-instantaneously filled up, (plate 23, fig. 2); and the resistance of
-such a medium would be less the greater the compression, provided the
-density were the same, because the velocity of rushing into a vacuum
-will be greater the greater the compression. Also, in a greatly
-compressed fluid, the form of the fore part of the body influences the
-amount of the retarding force but very slightly, while in a
-non-compressed fluid this force would be considerably affected by the
-peculiar shape which might be given to the projectile.
-
-  ~Resistance increased when the body moves so fast that a vacuum is
-  formed behind it.~
-
-Thirdly. If the body can be moved so rapidly that the fluid cannot
-instantaneously press in behind it, as is found to be the case in the
-atmosphere, the resisting power of the medium must be considerably
-increased, for the projectile being deprived of the pressure of the
-fluid on its hind part, must support on its fore part the whole weight
-of a column of the fluid, over and above the force employed in moving
-the portion of the fluid in contact with it, which force is the sole
-source of resistance in the discontinued fluid. Also, the condensation
-of the air in front of the body will influence considerably the relation
-between the resistances and the velocities of an oblique surface: and it
-is highly probable that although the resistances to a globe may for slow
-motions be nearly proportional to the squares of the velocities, they
-will for great velocities increase in a much higher ratio.
-
-
-ON THE VELOCITY WITH WHICH AIR WILL RUSH INTO A VACUUM.
-
-  ~The velocity of the rush of air into a vacuum.~
-
-When considering the resistance of the air to a body in motion, it is
-important that the velocity with which air will rush into a vacuum
-should be determined; and this will depend upon its pressure or
-elasticity.
-
-  ~Result.~
-
-It has been calculated, that air will rush into a vacuum at the rate of
-about 1,344 feet per second when the barometer stands at 30 inches, so
-that should a projectile be moving through the atmosphere at a greater
-velocity than this, say 1,600 feet per second, then would there be a
-vacuum formed behind the ball, and instead of having merely the
-resistance due to the inertia of the particles of the air, it would, in
-addition, suffer that from the whole pressure of a column of the medium,
-equal to that indicated by the barometer.
-
-
-
-
-UPON THE RESISTANCE OF THE AIR TO BODIES OF DIFFERENT FORMS.
-
-
-  ~Difficulties of the question.~
-
-The influence of the form of a body upon the resistance offered to it by
-a fluid, is a problem of the greatest difficulty; and although the most
-celebrated mathematicians have turned their attention to the subject,
-still, even for slow motions, they have only been able to frame strictly
-empirical formula, founded upon the data derived from practice; while
-with regard to the resistance at very high velocities, such as we have
-to deal with, very little light has hitherto been thrown upon the
-subject.
-
-  ~Compressed fluid.~
-
-When a body moves in the atmosphere, the particles which are set in
-motion by the projectile, act upon those in proximity to them, and these
-again upon others; and also from the elasticity of the fluid, it would
-be compressed before the body in a degree dependant upon the motion and
-form of the body. Moreover, the atmosphere itself partakes so much of
-the nature of an infinitely compressed fluid, as to constantly follow
-the body without loss of density when the motion is slow, but not when
-the velocity is great, so that the same law will not hold good for both.
-In an infinitely compressed fluid (that is, one which would fill up the
-space left behind the body instantaneously) the parts of the fluid which
-the body presses against in its motion would instantaneously communicate
-the pressure received by them throughout the whole mass, so that the
-density of the fluid would not undergo any change, either in front of
-the body or behind it, consequently the resistance to the body would be
-much less than in a fluid partially compressed like the atmosphere; and
-the form of the body would not have the same effect in diminishing or
-increasing the amount of resistance.
-
-  ~When a vacuum is formed behind the ball.~
-
-When the velocity of a body moving in the atmosphere is so great that a
-vacuum is formed behind it, the action of the fluid approaches to that
-of the discontinued fluid.
-
-
-RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS WITH SLOW MOTIONS.
-
-  ~Resistance in proportion to surface.~
-
-1st. It appears from the various experiments that have been made upon
-bodies moving in the atmosphere, that the resistance is nearly as the
-surface, increasing a very little above that proportion in the greater
-surfaces.
-
-  ~Resistance as squares of velocity.~
-
-2nd. That the resistance to the same surface with _different_
-velocities, is in _slow_ motions nearly as the squares of the velocity,
-but gradually increasing more and more in proportion as the velocities
-increase.
-
-  ~Rounded and pointed ends suffer less resistance.~
-
-3rd. The round ends, and sharp ends of solids, suffer less resistance
-than the flat or plane ends of the same diameter. Hence the flat end of
-the cylinder and of a hemisphere, or of a cone, suffer more resistance
-than the round or sharp ends of the same.
-
-  ~Sharp ends not always least resistance.~
-
-4th. The sharper ends have not always the smaller resistances; for
-instance, the round end of a hemisphere has less resistance than the
-pointed end of a cone, whose angle with the axis is 25° 42′.
-
-  ~Form of base affects resistance.~
-
-5th. When the hinder parts of bodies are of different forms, the
-resistances are different, though the fore parts are the same. Hence the
-resistance to the fore part of a cylinder is less than that on the
-equally flat surface of the cone or hemisphere, owing to the shape of
-the _base_ of the cylinder. The base of the hemisphere has less
-resistance than the cone, and the round side of the hemisphere less than
-that of the whole sphere.
-
-  ~Only proved for slow motions.~
-
-The above refers only to _slow_ motions, and the results given, from
-experiments with very small velocities; and it is to be expected, that
-with very rapid motions the form of the fore, as well as the hind part,
-of the projectile, will influence the amount of resistance in a much
-higher degree.
-
-  ~Form of hind part.~
-
-That form for the hind part will be best which has the greatest pressure
-upon it, when moving with a certain velocity.
-
-  ~Best shape for fore and hind part.~
-
-The ogivale form seems, from experiment, to fulfil the former condition.
-The best form for the _hind_ part, for _rapid_ motions, has not been
-determined; it may, however, be considered to be of much less importance
-than the shape of the fore part.
-
-  ~Form determined by extent of range.~
-
-Of course the best form can be determined by extent of range, but
-deductions from this will depend upon such a variety of circumstances,
-the effects of some of which must be entirely hypothetical, that the
-correctness of any formulæ obtained in this manner must be very
-uncertain.
-
-  ~Form suggested by Sir I. Newton.~
-
-Sir Isaac Newton, in his “Principia,” has given an indication of that
-form of body, which, in passing through a fluid, would experience less
-resistance than a solid body of equal magnitude of any other form. It is
-elongated.
-
-  ~Axis of elongated bodies must be fixed.~
-
-It is plain, however, that the minimum of resistance would not be
-obtained with a shot of an elongated form, unless the axis can be kept
-in the direction of the trajectory; as not only will the axis
-perpetually deviate from the true direction, but the projectile will
-turn over and rotate round its shorter axis, that is, if fired out of a
-smooth bore.
-
-  ~Advantages of conical bullets.~
-
-Conical bullets have an advantage, from their pointed end, which enables
-them to pass through the air with greater facility; and for the same
-reason they are better calculated to penetrate into any matter than
-spherical ones.
-
-  ~Disadvantages of conical bullets.~
-
-A _solid_ bullet cannot be pointed without sending backward the centre
-of gravity. The sharper the point, the more it is liable to injury, and
-if the apex of the cone does not lie true, in the axis of the
-projectile, then such an imperfection of figure is calculated to cause
-greater deflections in the flight than any injury which a round surface
-is likely to sustain. In penetrating into solid bodies, it is also
-important that the centre of gravity should be near its work.
-
-
-RESISTANCE OF THE AIR, AS AFFECTED BY THE WEIGHT OF PROJECTILES.
-
-  ~Resistance overcome by weight.~
-
-Bodies of similar volume and figure overcome the resistance of the air
-in proportion to their densities. The amount of the air’s resistance is
-in proportion to the magnitude of the surface.
-
-  ~Contents of circles.~
-
-The superficial contents of circles are as the _squares_ of their
-diameters. Hence if the ball A. (plate 23, fig. 3) be 2in. in diameter,
-and the ball B. 4in., the amount of resistance experienced would be as
-four to sixteen.
-
-  ~Contents of spheres.~
-
-The cubical contents, or weights of spheres, are in proportion to the
-_cubes_ of their diameters. Hence the power to overcome resistance in
-the balls A and B would be as _eight_ to _sixty-four_. Thus the power to
-overcome resistance increases in much greater proportion than the
-resistance elicited by increasing the surface.
-
-  ~Advantages of elongated bullets.~
-
-Suppose an elongated body to have the diameter of its cylindrical
-portion equal to that of the ball A., _i.e._, E.F. = C.D., (plate 23,
-fig. 4), and elongated so that its weight should be equal to that of the
-spherical shot B., it is evident that it would meet equal resistance
-from the air, to the ball A., having, at the same time, as much power to
-overcome resistance as the body B.
-
-Elongated balls, by offering a larger surface to the sides of the
-barrel, are less liable to be affected by any imperfections in the bore;
-whereas the spherical ball, pressing only on its tangential point, will
-give to any little hollows, or undulations, wherever they occur.
-
-  ~Balls cannot be expanded.~
-
-  ~Elongated projectiles easily expanded.~
-
-A spherical ball cannot be expanded into the grooves, unless there be
-very little windage, except by blows from the ramrod, the gas escaping
-round the circumference of the ball, and giving it an irregular motion
-while passing down the barrel; but an elongated projectile can be
-readily expanded, and the facility of doing so is in proportion to the
-difference of length between its major and minor axis.
-
-
-
-
-DEVIATIONS OF PROJECTILES FROM SMOOTH-BORED GUNS.
-
-
-  ~Causes of deviation of shot.~
-
-Very great irregularities occur in the paths described by projectiles
-fired from smooth-bored guns. It is a fact well known to all practical
-artillerists, that if a number of solid shot or any other projectile be
-fired from the same gun, with equal charges and elevations, and with
-gunpowder of the same quality, the gun carriage resting on a platform,
-and the piece being laid with the greatest care before each round, very
-few of the shot will range to the same distance; and moreover, the
-greater part will be found to deflect considerably (unless the range be
-very short) to the right or left of the line in which the gun is
-pointed.
-
-  ~Four causes of deviation.~
-
-The causes of these deviations may be stated as follows:--1st, Windage;
-2nd, Rotation; 3rd, Wind; 4th, from Rotation of the Earth.
-
-
-1st CAUSE, WINDAGE.
-
-  ~Action from windage.~
-
-  ~False direction.~
-
-  ~Gives rotation.~
-
-Windage causes irregularity in the flight of a projectile, from the fact
-of the elastic gas acting in the first instance on its upper portion,
-and driving it against the bottom of the bore; the shot re-acts at the
-same time that it is impelled forward by the charge, and strikes the
-upper surface of the bore some distance down, and so on by a succession
-of rebounds, until it leaves the bore in an accidental direction, and
-with a rotatory motion, depending chiefly on the position of the last
-impact against the bore. Thus should the last impact of a (concentric)
-shot when fired from a gun be upon the right hand side of the bore, as
-represented, (plate 23, fig. 5); the shot will have a tendency to
-deflect to the left in the direction. While at the same time a rotation
-will be given to it in the direction indicated by the arrows.
-
-
-
-
-2nd CAUSE, ROTATION.
-
-
-  ~Rotation without translation.~
-
-Every body may have a twofold motion, one by which it is carried
-forward, and the other by which it may turn round on an axis passing
-through its centre, called a motion of rotation.
-
-When a body has only a motion of translation all the particles of which
-it is composed move with equal swiftness, and also in parallel
-directions; and by the first law of motion, every particle put in such
-motion will constantly move with the same velocity in the same
-direction, unless it be prevented by some external cause.
-
-  ~Rotation.~
-
-  ~Rotation and translation combined.~
-
-By a motion of rotation, a body without changing its place, turns round
-on an axis passing through its centre of gravity. A body may have at the
-same time both a progressive and rotatory motion, without either
-disturbing the other, and one may suffer a change from the action of
-some external force, while the other continues the same as before.
-
-  ~Force through centre of gravity, causes progressive motion only.~
-
-If the direction of the force be through the centre of gravity, it
-causes a progressive motion only, that is, if the body was at rest
-before, it will move forward in the direction of the impressed force.
-
-  ~Effect of force on a body in motion.~
-
-If a body had a progressive motion before, then impressed force will
-cause it to move faster or slower, or to change its direction, according
-as the direction of this second force conspires with or opposes its
-former motion, or acts obliquely on its direction.
-
-  ~Rotation not disturbed by second force in direction of centre of
-  gravity.~
-
-If a body, besides its progressive motion had a motion of rotation also,
-this last will not be changed by the action of a new force passing
-through the centre of gravity.
-
-  ~Rotation of force does not pass through the centre of gravity.~
-
-If the direction of the force does not pass through the centre of
-gravity, the progressive motion will be altered, and the body will then
-also acquire a rotatory motion round an axis passing through the centre
-of gravity, and perpendicular to a plane passing through the direction
-of the force and this centre.
-
-
-CASES BEARING UPON THE FOREGOING THEORY.
-
-  ~When ball is perfectly round, centre of gravity coincides with
-  figure, and no windage.~
-
-1st Case. Suppose the ball to be perfectly round, its centre of gravity
-and figure to coincide, and let there be no windage. In this case the
-force of the powder not only passes through the centre of gravity of the
-shot, but proceeds in a direction parallel to the axis of the bore, and
-there would be but small friction due to the weight of the shot.
-
-  ~If windage then rotation.~
-
-2nd Case. But as there is a considerable amount of friction between the
-bore and the projectile in the case where there is windage, the
-direction of this force being opposite to that of the gunpowder, and
-upon the surface of the ball, it will therefore give rotation to the
-shot.
-
-  ~Eccentricity causes rotation.~
-
-3rd Case. Suppose the ball to be perfectly round, but its centre of
-gravity not to coincide with the centre of figure. In this case the
-impelling force passes through the centre of the ball, or nearly so, and
-acts in a direction parallel to the axis of the piece; but if the centre
-of gravity of the ball lie out of the line of direction of the force of
-the powder, the shot will be urged to turn round its centre of gravity.
-
-  ~Angular velocity.~
-
-The angular velocity communicated to the body will depend, firstly, upon
-the length of the perpendicular from the centre of gravity upon the
-direction of the impelling force, and secondly, upon the law of density
-of the material or the manner in which the metal is distributed. The
-direction of rotations will depend upon the position of the centre of
-figure with regard to that of gravity. (Plate 23, fig. 6.)
-
-  ~Robins’ remarks.~
-
-Robins remarks, bullets are not only depressed beneath their original
-direction by the action of gravity, but are also frequently driven to
-the right or left of that direction by the action of some other force.
-If it were true that bullets varied their direction by the action of
-gravity only, then it ought to happen that the errors in their flight to
-the right or left of the mark, should increase in proportion to the
-distance of the mark from the firer only.
-
-  ~Deflection not in proportion to distance.~
-
-But this is contrary to all experience, for the same piece which will
-carry its bullet within an inch at ten yards, cannot be relied upon to
-ten inches in one hundred yards, much less to thirty inches in three
-hundred.
-
-Now this irregularity can only arise from the track of the bullet being
-incurvated sideways as well as downwards. The reality of this doubly
-incurvated track being demonstrated, it may be asked what can be the
-cause of a motion so different from what has been hitherto supposed.
-
-  ~1st cause of increase, deflection.~
-
-1st Cause. Is owing to the resistance of the air acting obliquely to the
-progressive motion of the body, and sometimes arises from inequalities
-in the resisted surface.
-
-  ~2nd cause, from whirling motion.~
-
-  ~Direction of a shot influenced by position of axis round which it
-  whirls.~
-
-2nd Cause. From a whirling motion acquired by the bullet round its axis,
-for by this motion of rotation, combined with the progressive motion,
-each part of the bullet’s surface will strike the air in a direction
-very different from what it would do if there was no such whirl; and the
-obliquity of the action of the air arising from this cause will be
-greater, according as the rotatory motion of the bullet is greater in
-proportion to its progressive motion; and as this whirl will in one part
-of the revolution conspire in some degree with the progressive, and in
-another part be equally opposed to it, the resistance of the air on the
-fore part of the bullet will be hereby affected, and will be increased
-in that part where the whirling motion conspires with the progressive;
-and diminished where it is opposed to it. And by this means the whole
-effort of resistance, instead of being in a direction opposite to the
-direction of the body, will become oblique thereto, and will produce
-those effects we have already mentioned. For instance, if the axis of
-the whirl was perpendicular to the horizon, then the incurvation would
-be to the right or left. If that axis were horizontal to the direction
-of the bullet, then the incurvation would be upwards or downwards. But
-as the first position of the axis is uncertain, and as it may
-perpetually shift in the course of the bullet’s flight, the deviation of
-the bullet is not necessarily either in one certain direction, nor
-tending to the same side in one part of its flight that it does in
-another, but it more usually is continually changing the tendency of its
-deflection, as the axis round which it whirls must frequently shift its
-position during the progressive motion.
-
-  ~Doubly incurvated track.~
-
-It is constantly found in practice that a shot will deviate in a curved
-line, either right or left, the curve rapidly increasing towards the end
-of the range. This most probably occurs from the velocity of rotation
-decreasing but slightly, compared with the initial velocity of the shot,
-or, if a strong wind is blowing across the range during the whole time
-of flight, the curve would manifestly be increased according as the
-velocity of the ball decreased.
-
-
-ILLUSTRATIONS OF ROBINS’ THEORY OF ROTATION.
-
-  ~With ball and double string.~
-
-1st Illustration. A wooden ball 4¹⁄₂ inches in diameter suspended by a
-double string, nine feet long. It will be found that if this ball
-receive a spinning motion by the untwisting of the string it will remain
-stationary. If it be made to vibrate, it will continue to do so in the
-same vertical plane. But if it be made to spin while it vibrates it will
-be deflected to that side on which the whirl combines with the
-progressive motion.
-
-  ~By firing through screens.~
-
-2nd Illustration. By firing through screens of thin paper placed
-parallel to each other, at equal distances, the deflection or track of
-bullets can easily be investigated. It will be found that the amount of
-deflection is wholly disproportioned to the increased distance of the
-screens.
-
-  ~Bent muzzle.~
-
-3rd Illustration. To give further light upon this subject, Mr. Robins
-took a barrel and bent it at about three or four inches from the muzzle
-to the left, the bend making an angle of 3° or 4° with the axis of the
-piece.
-
-By firing at screens it was found that although the ball passed through
-the first screens to the left, it struck the butt to the right of the
-vertical plane on which aim was taken in line of the axis of the unbent
-portion of the barrel. This was caused by the friction of the ball on
-the right side of the bent part of the muzzle, causing the ball to spin
-from left to right.
-
-
-ON ECCENTRIC PROJECTILES.
-
-  ~How to find centre of gravity.~
-
-Sir Howard Douglas, in his “Naval Gunnery,” states:--“The position of
-the centre of gravity can be found by floating the projectile in
-mercury, and marking its vertex. Then mark a point upon the shot
-diametrically opposite to that point, which will give the direction of
-the axis in which the two centres lie. Thus the shot can be placed in
-the gun with its centre of gravity in any desired position.”
-
-  ~Effect of eccentricity.~
-
-“On making experiments, it appeared that not one shot in a hundred, when
-floated in mercury, was indifferent as to the position in which it was
-so floated, but turned immediately, until the centre of gravity arrived
-at the lowest point, and consequently that not one shot in a hundred was
-perfect in sphericity, and homogeneity. Shells can be made eccentric by
-being cast with a solid segment in the interior sphere, left in the
-shell, or by boring two holes in each shell, diametrically opposite to
-one another, stopping up one with 5lbs. of lead, and the other with
-wood. When the centre of gravity was above the centre of the figure, the
-ranges were the longest, and when below, the shortest. When to the right
-or left hand, the deviations were also to the right or left. The mean
-range which, with the usual shot, was 1640 yards, was, with the shot
-whose centres of gravity and of figure were not coincident, the centre
-of gravity being upwards, equal to 2140 yards, being an increase of 500
-yards.
-
-  ~Ricochet of eccentric shot.~
-
-“With respect to the ricochet of eccentric spherical projectiles, the
-rotation which causes deflection in the flight, must act in the same
-manner to impede a straight forward graze. When an ordinary well formed
-homogenous spherical projectile, upon which probably very little
-rotation is impressed, makes a graze, the bottom of the vertical
-diameter first touches the plane, and immediately acquires, by the
-reaction, a rotation upon its horizontal axis, by which the shot rolls
-onwards throughout the graze, probably for a straight forward second
-flight. But in the case of an eccentric spherical projectile, placed
-with its centre of gravity to the right or to the left, its rotation
-upon its vertical axis during the graze must occasion a fresh deflection
-in its second flight, and it is only when the centre of gravity is
-placed in a vertical plane passing through the axis of the gun, that the
-rotation by touching the ground will not disturb the direction of the
-graze, though the extent of range to the first graze will be affected
-more or less according as the centre of gravity may have been placed
-upwards or downwards. Whether the rebounds take place from water, as in
-the experiments made on board the “Excellent,” or on land, as those
-carried on at Shoeburyness, the shot, when revolving on a vertical axis,
-instead of making a straight forward graze, suffered deflection which
-were invariably towards the same side of the line of fire as the centre
-of gravity; and at every graze up to the fourth, a new deflection took
-place.
-
-  ~Knowledge derived from experiments with eccentric shot.~
-
-“The results of these very curious and instructive experiments fully
-explain the extraordinary anomalies, as they have heretofore been
-considered, in length of range and in the lateral deviations: these have
-been attributed to changes in the state of the air, or the direction of
-the wind, to differences in the strength of the gunpowder, and to
-inequalities in the degrees of windage. All these causes are, no doubt,
-productive of errors in practice, but it is now clear that those errors
-are chiefly occasioned by the eccentricity and nonhomogeneity of the
-shot, and the accidental positions of the centre of gravity of the
-projectile with respect to the axis of the bore. The whole of these
-experiments furnish decisive proof of the necessity of paying the most
-scrupulous attention to the figure and homogeneity of solid shot, and
-concentricity of shells, and they exhibit the remarkable fact that a
-very considerable increase of range may be obtained without an increase
-in the charge, or elevation of the gun.”
-
-  ~No advantage in using eccentric projectiles.~
-
-It is not to be expected that eccentric projectiles would be applicable
-for general purposes, on account of the degree of attention and care
-required in their service, nor would much advantage be gained by their
-use, as the momentum is not altered, and it is only necessary to give
-the ordinary shot a little more elevation in order to strike the same
-object.
-
-  ~Range of elongated projectiles at certain low elevations greater in
-  air than in vacuo.~
-
-There is another point of great importance with regard to the range of
-elongated projectiles. It is asserted by Sir W. Armstrong and others,
-that at certain low elevations the range of an elongated projectile is
-greater in the atmosphere than in vacuo, and the following is the
-explanation given by the former of this apparent paradox. “In a vacuum,
-the trajectory would be the same, whether the projectile were elongated
-or spherical, so long as the angle of elevation, and the initial
-velocity were constant; but the presence of a resisting atmosphere makes
-this remarkable difference, that while it greatly shortens the range of
-the round shot, it actually prolongs that of the elongated projectile,
-provided the angle of elevation do not exceed a certain limit, which, in
-my experiments, I have found to be about 6°. This appears, at first,
-very paradoxical, but it may be easily explained. The elongated shot, if
-properly formed, and having a sufficient rotation, retains the same
-inclination to the horizontal plane throughout its flight, and
-consequently acquires a continually increasing obliquity to the curve of
-its flight. Now the effect of this obliquity is, that the projectile is
-in a measure sustained upon the air, just as a kite is supported by the
-current of air meeting the inclined surface, and the result is that its
-descent is retarded, so that it has time to reach to a greater
-distance.”
-
-  ~Charge.~
-
-The form and weight of the projectile being determined as well as the
-inclination of the grooves, the charge can be so arranged as to give the
-necessary initial velocity, and velocity of rotation; or if the nature
-of projectile and charge be fixed, the inclination of the grooves must
-be such as will give the required results. The most important
-consideration is the weight and form of projectile; the inclination of
-the grooves, the charge, weight of metal in the gun, &c., are regulated
-almost entirely by it. The charges used with rifle pieces are much less
-than those with which smooth-bored guns are fired, for little or none of
-the gas is allowed to escape by windage, there being therefore no loss
-of force; and it is found by experience that, with comparatively low
-initial velocities, the elongated projectiles maintain their velocity,
-and attain very long ranges.
-
-  NOTE.--The foregoing articles on “Theory,” are principally extracted
-  from “New Principles of Gunnery by Robins,” “Treatise on Artillery, by
-  Lieut.-Colonel Boxer, R.A.” “The Rifle Musket, by Captain Jervis,
-  M.P., Royal Artillery.” “Elementary Lecturers on Artillery, by Major
-  H. C. Owen and Captain T. Dames, Royal Artillery.”
-
-
-THE END.
-
-[Illustration: PLATE 1.
-
-FIG. 1.
-
-Powder Mill.
-
-FIG. 2.
-
-Old Eprouvette Pendulum
-
-FIG. 3.
-
-New Pattern Eprouvette
-
-_Harry Vernon delt._
-
-Day & Son Lith^{rs}. to the Queen.]
-
-[Illustration: PLATE 2.
-
-Hydraulic Press
-
-_Enlarged section of Valve_
-
-_Harry Vernon delt._
-
-Day & Son Lith^{rs}. to the Queen.]
-
-[Illustration: PLATE 3.
-
-Robins’ Balistic Pendulum
-
-_Harry Vernon delt._
-
-Day & Son Lith^{rs}. to the Queen.]
-
-[Illustration: PLATE 4.
-
-FIG. 1.
-
-Bow unstrung
-
-FIG. 2.
-
-Bow strung
-
-FIG. 3.
-
-Hand or Arrow Rocket
-
-FIG. 4.
-
-Five barrelled Matchlock
-
-FIG. 5.
-
-Revolving Barrelled Matchlock
-
-CHINESE EXPLOSIVE AND OTHER WEAPONS.
-
-FIG. 6.
-
-Asiatic Bow
-
-_Harry Vernon delt._
-
-Day & Son Lith^{rs}. to the Queen]
-
-[Illustration: PLATE 5.
-
-FIG. 1.
-
-Matchlock
-
-FIG. 2.
-
-Breech loading Gingal (Chamber in)
-
-FIG. 3.
-
-Breech loading Gingal (Chamber out)
-
-CHINESE EXPLOSIVE ARMS.
-
-_Harry Vernon delt._
-
-Day & Son Lith^{rs}. to the Queen.]
-
-[Illustration: PLATE 6.
-
-FIG. 1.
-
-FIG. 2.
-
-FIG. 3.
-
-FIG. 4.
-
-_Harry Vernon dele._
-
-MACHINES FOR THROWING DARTS AND STONES.
-
-Day & Son Lith^{rs}. to the Queen.]
-
-[Illustration: PLATE 7.
-
-ONAGER (SLUNG).
-
-_Harry Vernon delt._
-
-Day & Son, Lith^{rs}. to the Queen.]
-
-[Illustration: PLATE 8.
-
-Onager (unslung).
-
-_Harry Vernon delt._
-
-Day & Son Lith^{rs}. to the Queen.]
-
-[Illustration: PLATE 9.
-
-Balista
-
-_Arthur Walker C.^{t} 79.^{th} delt._
-
-Day & Son Lith^{rs}. to the Queen.]
-
-[Illustration: PLATE 10.
-
-Catapulta.
-
-_Dessiné par Arthur Walker._
-
-Day & Son Lith^{rs}. to the Queen.]
-
-[Illustration: PLATE 11.
-
-FIG. 1.
-
-Staff slings, Longbows, Crossbows and Flail.
-
-FIG. 2.
-
-Onager.
-
-FIG. 3.
-
-Trepied.
-
-_Harry Vernon delt._
-
-Day & Son Lith^{rs}. to the Queen.]
-
-[Illustration: PLATE 12.
-
-Detail of Springs.
-
-Balista.
-
-_Harry Vernon Staff Serj^{t}. del._
-
-Day & Son Lith^{rs}. to the Queen.]
-
-[Illustration: PLATE 13.
-
-FIG. 1.
-
-FIG. 2.
-
-FIG. 3.
-
-_Harry Vernon delt._
-
-A Cross bow man and Slinger.
-
-Day & Son Lith^{rs}. to the Queen.]
-
-[Illustration: PLATE 14.
-
-FIG. 1.
-
-FIG. 2.
-
-FIG. 3.
-
-FIG. 4.
-
-Cross-bows and Quarrels.
-
-_Harry Vernon delt._
-
-Day & Son Lith^{rs}. to the Queen.]
-
-[Illustration: PLATE 15.
-
-_Harry Vernon delt._
-
-A Cross bow man and his Paviser.
-
-Day & Son Lith^{rs}. to the Queen.]
-
-[Illustration: PLATE 16.
-
-FIG. 1.
-
-Gun and Querrel Temp: Edward 3^{rd}. Sloane M^{ss}.
-
-FIG. 2.
-
-Small chambered Cannon from the Santini M^{ss}.
-
-FIG. 3.
-
-Santini M^{ss}. Early part of 15^{th} Cent^{y}.
-
-FIG. 4.
-
-Mode of mounting from Froissart.
-
-FIG. 5.
-
-Method of obtaining elevation.
-
-FIG. 6.
-
-Mode of Mounting from Valturius.
-
-FIG. 7.
-
-From the wreck of the “Mary Rose” Temp: Henry 8^{th}.
-
-FIG. 8.
-
-Hooped Cannon in wooden bed.
-
-FIG. 9.
-
-Ancient Screw piece.
-
-FIG. 10.
-
-Ancient Screw Breech loader.
-
-FIG. 11.
-
-Chinese Field piece Peiho 1860.
-
-FIG. 12.
-
-Ancient howitzer Cannon for throwing balls Filled with powder
-
-_Arthur Walker delt._
-
-Day & Son Lith^{rs}. to the Queen.]
-
-[Illustration: PLATE 17.
-
-FIG. 1.
-
-Giorgio Martini, 15^{th}. Century, latter part.
-
-FIG. 2.
-
-Queen Elizabeth’s Pocket Pistol.
-
-Mons Meg.
-
-Chamber.
-
-Pierrier or Paterera__16^{th}. Century.
-
-_H. Cautly del._
-
-Day & Son Lith^{rs}. to the Queen.]
-
-[Illustration: PLATE 18.
-
-FIG. 1.
-
-Cart of War.__Temp: Henry 8^{th}.
-
-FIG. 2.
-
-“Moolik i Meidan.”
-
-FIG. 3.
-
-Bombard and Carriage.__15^{th}. Cent^{y}.
-
-FIG. 4.
-
-Long Serpentine of Wrought Iron.__15^{th}. Cent^{y}.
-
-_R.G. Coles del.^{t}_
-
-Day & Son Lith^{rs}. to the Queen.]
-
-[Illustration: PLATE 19.
-
-FIG. 1.
-
-FIG. 2.
-
-FIG. 3.
-
-FIG. 4.
-
-FIG. 5.
-
-FIG. 6.
-
-FIG. 7.
-
-FIG. 8.
-
-FIG. 9.
-
-Musketeer 16^{th}. Cent^{y}.
-
-FIG. 10.
-
-Earliest form of Hand Gun.
-
-FIG. 11.
-
-FIG. 12.
-
-_Arthur Walker, delt._
-
-Day & Son Lith^{rs}. to the Queen.]
-
-[Illustration: PLATE 20.
-
-1
-
-2
-
-3
-
-4
-
-5
-
-6
-
-7
-
-8
-
-9
-
-10
-
-11
-
-12
-
-13
-
-14
-
-15
-
-16
-
-17
-
-18
-
-19
-
-Day & Son Lith^{rs}. to the Queen.]
-
-[Illustration: PLATE 21.
-
-FIG. 1.
-
-FIG. 2.
-
-FIG. 3.
-
-FIG. 4.
-
-FIG. 5.
-
-_Arthur Walker del._
-
-Day & Son Lith^{rs}. to the Queen.]
-
-[Illustration: PLATE 22.
-
-FIG. 1.
-
-FIG. 2.
-
-FIG. 3.
-
-FIG. 4.
-
-_Arthur Walker L^{t}. 79^{th}. del._
-
-Day & Son Lith^{rs}. to the Queen.]
-
-[Illustration: PLATE 23.
-
-FIG. 1.
-
-FIG. 2.
-
-FIG. 3.
-
-FIG. 4.
-
-FIG. 5.
-
-FIG. 6.
-
-_Harry Vernon Staff Serj^{t}. del._
-
-Day & Son Lith^{rs}. to the Queen.]
-
-
-
-
-Extended Table of Contents
-
-
-                                                                    Page
-  INTRODUCTION.                                                        i
-
-  CONTENTS                                                           iii
-
-  ERRATA.                                                             iv
-
-  HISTORY OF GUNPOWDER.                                                1
-    GREEK FIRE.                                                        4
-
-  ON THE MANUFACTURE OF GUNPOWDER.                                     7
-    SALTPETRE, OR NITRE.                                               7
-      OLD METHOD.                                                      7
-      NEW METHOD.                                                      8
-    CHARCOAL.                                                          9
-    SULPHUR.                                                          11
-    PULVERIZING THE INGREDIENTS.                                      11
-    MIXING THE INGREDIENTS.                                           12
-    THE INCORPORATING MILL.                                           12
-    INCORPORATING THE INGREDIENTS.                                    13
-    BREAKING DOWN THE MILL CAKE.                                      14
-    PRESSING THE MEAL BY THE HYDRAULIC PRESS.                         14
-    GRANULATING THE PRESS CAKE.                                       15
-    DUSTING LARGE-GRAIN POWDER.                                       16
-    DUSTING FINE-GRAIN POWDER.                                        17
-    GLAZING FINE-GRAIN POWDER.                                        17
-    STOVING OR DRYING POWDER.                                         17
-    FINISHING DUSTING.                                                17
-    EXAMINATION AND PROOF OF GUNPOWDER.                               18
-    PROOF OF MERCHANT’S POWDER.                                       18
-    REMARKS ON THE PROOF OF POWDER BY THE EPROUVETTES.                19
-    OF THE SIZE OF GRAIN FOR GUNPOWDER.                               19
-    OBSERVATIONS ON THE MANUFACTURE OF GUNPOWDER ON THE CONTINENT
-    AND AMERICA.                                                      20
-      PRODUCTION AND PURIFICATION OF THE INGREDIENTS.                 20
-      PULVERIZING AND MIXING THE INGREDIENTS.                         20
-      INCORPORATING PROCESS.                                          21
-      GRANULATING.                                                    21
-      STOVING OR DRYING.                                              21
-    NEW RIFLE POWDER.                                                 22
-
-  ON MAGAZINES.                                                       23
-
-  LIGHTNING CONDUCTORS.    24
-
-  ON THE EXPLOSIVE FORCE OF GUNPOWDER.                                29
-    FOULING.                                                          35
-    EFFECTS OF GUNPOWDER ON METALS.                                   35
-    MISCELLANEOUS EXPERIMENTS.                                        36
-    ON THE TIME REQUIRED FOR IGNITION OF GUNPOWDER.                   38
-    EFFECTS OF ACCIDENTAL EXPLOSIONS OF GUNPOWDER.                    38
-
-  ON ANCIENT ENGINES OF WAR.                                          39
-    THE SLING.                                                        43
-    THE BOW.                                                          44
-    MERITS OF THE LONG BOW.                                           45
-    Our Forefathers encouraged to acquire skill in archery by legal
-    enactments, and by the founders of our public schools.            47
-      1ST. BY LEGAL ENACTMENTS.                                       47
-      2ND.—BY THE FOUNDERS OF OUR PUBLIC SCHOOLS.                     48
-    MEANS BY WHICH SKILL IN ARCHERY WAS ACQUIRED.                     49
-    PROOFS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF ARCHERY.                              52
-    MILITARY AND POLITICAL CONSEQUENCES OF SKILL IN THE USE OF THE
-    BOW.                                                              53
-    THE ARBALEST, OR CROSS-BOW.                                       54
-    DESCRIPTION OF CROSS-BOW.                                         57
-    COMPARATIVE MERITS OF THE LONG AND CROSS BOW.                     59
-    COMPARATIVE MERITS BETWEEN BOWS AND EARLY FIRE-ARMS.              59
-
-  HISTORY OF ARTILLERY.                                               62
-    ETYMOLOGIES.                                                      72
-
-  HISTORY OF PORTABLE FIRE-ARMS.                                      73
-
-  THE BAYONET.                                                        83
-
-  ACCOUTREMENTS AND AMMUNITION.                                       84
-
-  HISTORY OF THE RIFLE.                                               86
-    RIFLED BREECH-LOADERS.                                            92
-
-  ON RIFLING.                                                         95
-    ON THE NUMBER, FORM &c., &c., &c., OF THE GROOVES.                96
-    ON RIFLE PROJECTILES.                                            101
-    CONCLUSION.                                                      108
-
-  THEORETICAL PRINCIPLES.                                            110
-    DEFINITIONS.                                                     110
-    MOTION OF A PROJECTILE.                                          111
-    GRAVITY.                                                         113
-    ON THE TIME TAKEN TO DRAW A BALL TO THE GROUND BY THE FORCE OF
-    GRAVITY.                                                         114
-    ATMOSPHERE.                                                      115
-    RESULT OF THE AIR’S RESISTANCE.                                  115
-    EXPERIMENTS IN FRANCE.                                           116
-    ON THE EFFECT OF THE RESISTANCE OF THE AIR UPON THE MOTION OF
-    A PROJECTILE.                                                    117
-    ON THE RESISTANCE OF A FLUID TO A BODY IN MOTION.                117
-    ON THE VELOCITY WITH WHICH AIR WILL RUSH INTO A VACUUM.          118
-
-  UPON THE RESISTANCE OF THE AIR TO BODIES OF DIFFERENT FORMS.       119
-    RESULTS OF EXPERIMENTS WITH SLOW MOTIONS.                        119
-    RESISTANCE OF THE AIR, AS AFFECTED BY THE WEIGHT OF PROJECTILES. 121
-    DEVIATIONS OF PROJECTILES FROM SMOOTH-BORED GUNS.                121
-      1st CAUSE, WINDAGE.                                            121
-      2nd CAUSE, ROTATION.                                           122
-    CASES BEARING UPON THE FOREGOING THEORY.                         122
-    ILLUSTRATIONS OF ROBINS’ THEORY OF ROTATION.                     124
-    ON ECCENTRIC PROJECTILES.                                        124
-
-  Original Table of Contents
-
-
-
-
-Transcriber’s Notes
-
-
-  The original language has been retained, including inconsistencies and
-  errors in spelling, hyphenation, capitalisation, etc., except as
-  mentioned below.
-
-  Depending on the hard- and software used and their settings, not all
-  elements may display as intended.
-
-  Table of Contents: as present in the source document. The reason for
-  the order of entries is not clear, and some chapters are not listed,
-  nor are the sections. The structure of the text has been determined
-  based on what seemed the most logical interpretation of (the lay-out
-  of) the chapter and section headings in the text. The Extended Table
-  of Contents in the back of the book has been created for this text on
-  the basis of this assumed structure.
-
-  The text refers to the plates by both Roman and Arabic numbers. This
-  has not been standardised. The numbering of the actual plates has been
-  standardised.
-
-  Page 29, great inconvenience ... quite preclude: as printed in the
-  source document.
-
-  Page 29 and 35 (and Errata), sulphite and sulphide: as printed in the
-  source document.
-
-  Page 30 and 31, calculations: as printed in the source document.
-
-  Page 44, Slings were used in 1572, at the siege of Sancere by the
-  Huguenots, in order to save their powder: there should be a comma
-  after Sancere, the Huguenots were the besieged party.
-
-  Page 47, Our forefathers ... public schools: considered to be a
-  section heading.
-
-  Page 66, both the king’s feed men: other sources mention Peter Bawd
-  and Peter Vancollen / Van Collen as freed men.
-
-  Page 107, weight of bullet, ·530 grains: as printed in the source
-  document, but unlikely to be correct.
-
-  Page 114, paragraph on Parabolic theory: even with the corrections
-  mentioned in the errata, some of the reference letters are missing; F,
-  G and H are presumably the ends of the vertical lines through C, D and
-  E respectively.
-
-  Page 119, strictly empirical formula: should probably have been a
-  plural.
-
-
-  Changes made:
-
-  Sidenotes have been moved to directly before, footnotes have been
-  moved to directly after the paragraph to which they refer.
-
-  Some minor obvious punctuation and typographical errors have been
-  corrected silently.
-
-  B.C./B. C. and A.D./A. D. have been standardised to B. C. and A. D.,
-  respectively. Minie, Miniè (the spelling used most commonly in this
-  book) and Minié have been standardised to Minié.
-
-  The (corrected, see below) Errata have already been applied to the
-  text.
-
-  Errata: Page 32, para. 6, line 10 changed to Page 32, para.7, line 10;
-  IX and XII changed to ix and xii; Page 84, para. 2, line 1 (2nd entry)
-  changed to Page 84, para. 3, line 1. Subalterns changed to subaltern
-  officers; Page 91, para. 5 changed to Page 91, para. 4; sign changed
-  to sine.
-
-  Page 4: Poganatus changed to Pogonatus as elsewhere
-
-  Page 5: Talavara changed to Talavera
-
-  Page 21: frustrum changed to frustum
-
-  Page 30: 3490 changed to 3940
-
-  Page 32, sidenote: Robert changed to Piobert (as in text and Errata)
-
-  Page 35: deliquescient changed to deliquescent
-
-  Page 38: dull read heat changed to dull red heat
-
-  Page 52: closing quote mark inserted after Shooting-fields
-
-  Page 54: yeoman or archers changed to yeomen or archers
-
-  Page 61: opening quote mark inserted before Report of the Rifle Match
-
-  Page 65: opening quote marks inserted before Musée
-
-  Page 74, sidenote: 1491 changed to 1471
-
-  Page 86, Bàle changed to Bâle
-
-  Page 88, sidenote: Carabine a Tige changed to Carabine à Tige
-
-  Page 105: cups divers shapes changed to cups of divers shapes
-
-  Page 115: Plate 21, fig. 2 changed to Plate 22, fig. 2
-
-  Plate 18: opening quote marks inserted before Moolik.
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Class Book for The School of Musketry
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